A Tall Cappuccino
by I Spaz With Pizzazz
Summary: Sasori is the artistic coffee addict who never really had a friend until he meets Deidara, a pyromaniac who also happens to be the new employee at Starbucks. Sasori/Deidara. Shounen-ai, AU. COMPLETE
1. First Sip

**A/N: **A new fic! And it has COFFEE in it! Ah! I freaking LOVE coffee…! Oh, hello. X3 sorry, I was going off on a coffee spaz there. Hee. Well, Lazzy here, hopeful that you'll all like my new story? I got this Idea and couldn't resist, because I'm a coffee addict too and I wanted another serious SasoDei besides Splinter. The yaoi won't start for a bit, since I want this to last a while, but please enjoy it! Reviews are appreciated; I love you guys for always being so nice to me. x3 I don't see how you can be so nice…!

If I owned Naruto, they would go to Starbucks instead of Ichiraku Ramen.

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

ONE

To put it plainly, Akasuna Sasori loved coffee. He lived for Starbucks, because life without coffee was just…well, just _life._ Which wasn't a very desirable life. No, especially not to this artistic red head. He was admittedly addicted to the sweet, caffeinated drink, and every day needed at least two cups to fill the calling. (Preferably above three, however.)

Coffee was a good friend to Sasori. It never let him down, even on the worse days. He'd tried a bad day or two without coffee, worried that the caffeine would just make him hyper and he'd end up even more agitated.

Akasuna Sasori learned never to do that again. The only thing that a day without coffee did to him was make him feel suicidal and utterly miserable. Oh hell, withdrawal had nearly made him want to jump out a window; he deepened that much on Starbucks.

Coffee was Sasori's very best friend because it was never going to hurt him. Also, it was (besides being on friendly terms with the Starbucks barista crew) just about his only friend.

Yeah, it was pretty lonely, but as long as he kept gulping down lattes, he thought he'd do okay.

--

Ah, the familiar calling was coming after him. He was twitching, and his skin was beginning to crawl.

How the hell did coffee yearning symptoms manage to be so similar to those of nicotine withdrawal?!

Massaging his forehead, the red head slung his bag onto his back, swung shut the door to his apartment, twisting his key in the lock, and scurried off for the familiar green sign. A picture of a twin tailed mermaid anywhere else could never manage to be so welcoming as the one on that circular sign…ah, sweet Starbucks.

Sasori could smell the coffee beans from three storefronts down, they were so wonderfully fragrant. He smiled when he was hit with their fresh melody.

Yeah, melody.

When you became as addicted to caffeine as the Akasuna was, it sings to you…which is quite a scary thought, but it's a great song.

Oh, and what a yummy song, too.

"Aha! Sasori-san is in!" The blue haired barista sat in the corner table, enjoying a frappuccino on her break. Several piercings dotted her face, and she wore a vibrant flower in her hair. She waved and smiled, "We were wondering when you'd show up today. You started to worry us, you took so long."

"Oh, sorry, Konan…I've been busy today…"

"That is no excuse to ignore coffee, and you know it. Go, go get a cup before you collapse from deprivation."

"Yeah…" he breathed in, the very air soothing his craving some.

"Oh, hey, by the way! Don't be surprised when you get up there; we've got a new addition to the crew…"

Hm? That was interesting. The workers and regulars at Starbucks were so close by now that it was like a makeshift family, and new additions were rare. There was Pein, the boss, dubbed Leader-sama by the various baristas; Konan of course, who was rumoured to be his girlfriend; Kakuzu, who mostly handled finances but sometimes was at the counter; and Hidan, who was foulmouthed but got away with it because he could brew the perfect latte.

As for Sasori's fellow customers, there was Zetsu, a strange man with a sometimes frightful spit personality; Itachi, a dark person with brother issues; and his close friend (boyfriend?) Kisame.

No, new additions weren't common at all, and Sasori's interest was piqued. "Really…?"

Konan nodded, twisting the sleeve of her cup around. "Yeah, he's um…he's an interesting little bastard. Ha. Yeah, an interesting little bastard… I heard he was going to art school like you are, but but got expelled for setting off an explosive on the grounds or some other crazy shit like that." She laughed lightly, and nodded again, "but Pein knew him from high school or something, so we can trust him. He's nice. An interesting kid…"

Expelled for setting off an explosion? Um…okay. "Well, if Leader-sama says so, it must be…fine." Sasori blinked, wondering what must have provoked him to throw away an arts education like that. Art wasn't something to be wasted on the cheap thrill of an explosion. Sasori knew, he made puppets for various theatres when he wasn't studying to get better. Every puppet was a work of art, with care driven into each intricate detail. "Um, anyway…yeah, I'll go get something. Damn, I'm shaking again…ha, I need my coffee."

Konan smirked, raising her own coffee, "Cheers, hun…"

Sasori nodded, excusing himself to go take a place in line. Glancing over the heads of the people before him, he studied the latest member of the roster. Was that a man or a woman? Such long yellow hair, with part of it draped over one eye…oh, it was a man, Sasori could tell when he turned his head up to deliver a drink to a customer.

Hm. A nice smile…

"Can I help you, un?"

The puppet master wondered what art this man had been working in. perhaps another person who worked with wood? Not possibly a second puppeteer; that would just be _too _lucky…

"Um. Can I help you, un…?"

…because luck never came in spurts that big. Especially not to the red head…

"Un…?"

"Hey, dumb fuck! Deidara's trying to ask you what coffee you want! Wake up Sasori! Stop fucking spacing out already! Jashin, you are clueless…" Hidan's loud voice brought him back.

"Oh…! Um, sorry! Ah…just a tall cappuccino, please…?"

The blonde smiled. Deidara was his name? "It's fine, un…a cappuccino! I'll get you one, un…"

Sasori handed over a few crumpled bills, and watched him splash together his drink intently.

So, this was Deidara…


	2. Nectar of the Gods

**A/N: **Uwah! Thank you for all the great reviews! X3 I'm glad so many people like it! Chapter two is here, so I hope I've done well again. Please review? You can have a virtual cappuccino… :3

If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't allow the English dubs to suck so badly. X.x''

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

TWO

For it being his first day, Deidara wasn't doing too badly at it. He maneuvered through the brewers deftly, and Sasori was stunned to be holding his drink so quickly in his hand. The blonde smiled at him nervously, "Umm. I hope I did okay, un."

Ah. That shy smile caught him off guard. What the hell was up with that? "Oh…it should be fine. Thank you…" he nodded, and went to rejoin Konan. With his free hand, he rubbed an eye. Of course it was just because he hadn't had his daily Starbucks…

The coffee police were waving their guns in his face, telling him he was disoriented and he needed a major shot of caffeine. Sasori didn't like being arrested by the coffee police, so he obediently took a big gulp when he settled into a chair.

"Sooo…! What do you think of him?" Konan leaned over to his side of the circular table, her eyes bright with interest.

Sasori swallowed, sizing up the cappuccino. "Well, he doesn't make a half bad coffee… Hidan might have to watch out in a few months…"

And eyeroll from Konan. "You are such an addict…is coffee _all _you think about? I meant the kid. You know, the living, breathing human being? Not the drink in your hand…even if that drink _is _the Nectar of the Gods, don't get me wrong!"

"Nectar of the Gods," Sasori smirked, "Who's the addict here?"

"Oh, would you just shut up and answer me?"

The red head mopped up a dribble trickling down the side of his cup and licked his finger. "Um. Well, he doesn't seem like the type to want to blow up his art school…"

"Pshhh, you haven't talked to him long enough, clearly." Konan tittered, nearly spilling the frappuccino at her side. "The boy loves explosions…but he wasn't setting it off maliciously…okay, well, hm. It was sort of… Ah, I don't know, you'll have to ask him what happened yourself. Ha…he's an interesting little bastard."

"Yeah, you said that." Several times, which really made the puppeteer curious. This particular Starbucks was a haven for characters, and characters were the only ones who could fit in with the mismatched family there. Maybe that was why other new employees never lasted longer than about a week.

Well, maybe Hidan's threats could've had something to do with it, too… If they messed up too many times, he could get quite colourful.

Ha ha.

Yeah.

The poor last girl…ah, that was one brutal tongue lashing. Sasori had been lucky (or was it unlucky?) enough to have been there for that…it wasn't really pretty, no.

"Oh, here comes Kisame-kun. Is that a frappuccino? Well, isn't _that_ manly…" Konan waved, and the other regular meandered over to their table.

"You've got a new staff guy…?" Kisame asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"His name is Deidara." Sasori offered, liking the way the blonde's name sounded as it rolled off his tongue.

"Really…"

Konan, growing bored of the subject, interjected. "Dude, you're drinking an effing frappuccino? _I'm _having one…you do know how unmanly that is? For somebody who likes to show off his big ass sword at conventions, you aren't looking so tough right now."

"Samehada is authentic, don't make fun of it!" he pouted, looking down at his coffee, "And it's hot. It's way too hot, so I'm allowed to have this…"

Sasori sighed, restraining himself from giggling, "Konan, stop picking on him…it's not nice."

"Awww, but he's so much fun to poke."

"Please, Konan-san, he's quite fragile, really…" Itachi appeared from nowhere, melting right up to Kisame, toting a latte. "Still, I find it sort of cute."

My my, Itachi said the word cute?!" Konan repeated in shock, "This is new…"

Sasori listened vaguely as they talked back and forth, his soothing coffee shop soundtrack. He lifted his sketchbook from his bag as their voices played in the background. When he had them chiming in his ears, he often drew the best designs for his puppets. There was comfort in this place, a comfort he could never find in his empty, lonely apartment or in his art school. Here, it just felt like a home. Until he'd first walked in these doors, Sasori had never felt the security of a true home, one with people who he could feel safe with. A quirky bunch of people, but they were a small shaft of sunlight in his dark world.

"Konan-san, un?"

"Aha, here's our Deidara now," the blue haired girl rose, stretching her arms. "Is my break over already? Here, talk to these dudes. You'll be seeing them in here a lot." She paused, reevaluating. "Umm. A very, very lot, actually. Anyway, later! I've got coffee to serve!"

She swung her sweatshirt over her shoulder and plopped her empty cup in a trash can on her way back to the counter.

Augh.

Always such cool exits. Konan was the queen of cool exits…perhaps that's why Pein liked her as he did.

"Actually, Kisame and I need to go now if we're going to catch that train…"

"Oh, um…see you, then?" Sasori paused his drawing, and found himself left with Deidara. Well…might as well _try _to start a conversation.

"So you're…you're the new kid?"

"Yeah, un. I've known Pein for a while, so he gave me the job, un…" he smiled meekly, "Nowhere else would take me once they found out about the, erm…well, there was an, um, incident ay my old art school, un…" he noticed Sasori's sketchbook, and craned his neck to see. "Can I ask what you're drawing…?"

So, he really _was _interested in art…! This could be a good addition…maybe; just maybe someone Sasori would be willing to speak to more than only a few words. If art was in his blood, he had to be worth chancing as a deep friend. Art and coffee… Akasuna Sasori knew those two things to be safe ones.

Probably safe even if he _had _detonated an explosive and been expelled.

Okay, but that _was _pretty fucking stupid.

"They're designs for puppets…" his voice came alive when he spoke of his puppets. "Since art is best eternal, I—"

"Wait, wait, eternal, un?" Deidara stopped him, "No, it has to be fleeting!"

"Fleeting."

"Yeah, un. Like an explosion!"

Aha. So there was the reason. He was a not-so-closet pyromaniac.

"Art should last forever, so everyone can see it…"

"Meh, whatever you say." Deidara shook his head, but still smiled, his eyes alight with dancing flames like in his fireworks. "But you know, un…"

"Hm?"

"Even though your opinion on art sucks, I think I might like it here, un!"

And the competition was sparked, without them even having to say it. It brewed like coffee, warming up.

Sasori drained his tall cappuccino, watching Deidara imitate one of his blasts with flailing arms, and wondered what the flavor of his next coffee would be.

Now that this interesting Deidara was here, he couldn't be sure.


	3. Life's Going Swimmingly

**A/N: **I'm sorry! It took longer than I wanted…I'm really busy lately…but, as for the story! :3 I've really done the whole 'Jeffery' incident… (You'll see what I mean. Heh.) well, actually, my friend brought it, but I was there. She's I Love My Puppeteers here. Go read her stories! They rock Jashin's socks… Anyway, thank you for reading! And all of your awesome feedback from the first two chapters! I love you guys!! Please review again if you still like it? :3

I tried to come up with another clever disclaimer, but I couldn't, so we'll pretend this is it. I don't own Naruto. Poo…

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

THREE

It so happened that the next flavor was a toffee nut latte. Sweet, but not so much that the coffee was overpowered. As perfect as it could be, Sasori greedily swallowed it up.

He wasn't the only caffeine dependant soul there, of course, and the other had a very interesting companion. "Kisame-san, is that a fish bowl?" The puppeteer couldn't help but have a double take when he saw it.

Dude, it was a _fish. _Swimming in happy circles, golden scales sparkling under the fluorescent lights.

Dude.

A _fish._

In _Starbucks._

"Ummm…" Kisame looked down at it with a lopsided grin. "Heh. Yeah. His name's Jeffery…"

"And…may I ask why the hell you brought a fish with you just to drink coffee?" Fascinating. "What happened to Itachi?" He'd been replaced by a goldfish?

Kisame rubbed his nose, watching Jeffery as he happily wiggled about, "Well, he's for Itachi, actually…see, I went to the fair with my nephew, and…"

"Aw, hell! Kisame-san, is that a fish?!"

Ah. Konan had joined the party.

"He's Jeffery. He's for Itachi…" Kisame reached out and traced a path on the bowl with his finger, and the goldfish followed it, content and carefree.

_Damn. This makes me wish I was him, swimming in there… _Sasori considered. _It would be such an easy life…although, it'd probably start to get boring after a while…_

The blue haired barista groaned, glancing nervously at the door. "Ugh, we're supposed to have a health inspector come today…is that a health violation?!"

"Um…probably not…he's just a fish…"

"Well, um! Crap, I wish Pein was here…ah, I guess if the dude comes, ah… Cover him up with a napkin or something!" But the line at the counter was long, and Hidan was starting to grumble. She bolted off, too busy to bother with Kisame's friend.

Who _was _sort of cute.

Aw. Look at him, jiggling that tail fin…wait, what? Why was Sasori fawning over a fish?! No, stop that…!

Ahem.

"Damn. Itachi won't be here for a while," Kisame mumbled, chewing the straw of his iced coffee. (Which was slightly more manly than a frappuccino, but not much.) "I guess…did you bring your sketchbook? Can I borrow a piece of paper?"

"Yeah, sure." He tore a sheet from the spiral binding, which Jeffery's guardian scrawled 'Registered Guide Fish' on and propped it against the bowl.

Um.

Yeah.

_Like that's gonna work…_ At least it was cute… Ah, something like this would only happen here, with these crazy people.

But, then, this was why Sasori liked it, because nobody conformed to the laws of reason. They could say that their fish was there to help them, and nobody would find it mental. Well, _too _mental.

And it was nice.

Akasuna Sasori felt nice there. He wasn't choking on any hateful air, because there was none. People didn't care; they only wanted to see you as yourself, not a perfect machine. He could let himself come out some…but still, he stayed subdued. Just in case.

Caution ruled him, even when he didn't necessarily want it to. Not that it was something he was proud of, no, not at all, but he couldn't get rid of it.

Eventually, he hoped that he could swim as freely as Jeffery, and not care if a health inspector kicked him out.

If he ever caught one of those fuzzy things that floated in the air during summer in the meadows, he would wish for that. For now, he had his latte to take care of him and keep him awake. Sometimes though, it didn't stop him from wanting a person there, grasped in his hand and always kept in mind…

Oh, he really belonged here with these crazy people if he launched into deep philosophical thoughts just because he saw a _fish… _He thirstily gulped his drink to drown the thoughts. "I never would have pictured Itachi-san to want a fish…"

"Heh. You know, neither did I, but he said he'd take him."

Silently, they sat and watched Jeffery do water cartwheels; and both were subconsciously wondering if he'd accidentally gotten some caffeine slipped in his water. Because seriously. There had never been a more active goldfish, especially one that had come from a street fair.

Maybe he was an aspiring circus performer? For like…under-sea trapeze…

"Sasori-san! Oh, are you busy with Kisame-san, un?"

Enter Deidara, coming in to start his shift. Sasori was surprisingly happy to see him, though he _was _holding a grudge over that 'fleeting' crap. True art was good enough to deserve to last forever. That was all there was to it.

Nevertheless, that bothersome blonde was somehow not leaving his thoughts. So, what better way to make him leave them than to talk to him…? Um, no, actually, that would just keep him _in _his head, but…

Sasori sort of liked him there.

"No, no, it's fine," he smiled slightly, nervously tapping his fingers on the cardboard sleeve of his latte.

"Ah! Good, un… Anyway, I was thinking, what better way to prove another kind of art is better than the other than to see the flaws up close and personal?"

"What do you mean, Deidara-san?"

"Well, thought I could show you my art sometime, un…hey, is that a _fish?!"_

Kisame cringed, "God, what do you people have against Jeffery? He's just minding hi sown business…"

For minding his own business, he was making quite a scene. Everyone was noticing him… Sasori glanced at the door just as a man in a suit strode through, absently reading a clipboard as he looked around.

''Speaking of Jeffery, is that the health inspector…?"

"Oh shit, umm…" Kisame scrambled, and hopped on top of the table, sitting in front of the bowl, shielding Itachi's present from view. He grinned nervously as the man passed, who was a bit confused to see the large man sitting on the table, but just kept moving toward the back of the store.

Ah, what a lovely anticlimax.

At least Konan wouldn't kill them. When she got angry, it was worse than Hidan, believe it or not…

"Itachi, if you don't get your ass here soon, I am breaking up with you…" Kisame grumbled, sliding back down into his chair and readjusting the Registered Guide Fish sign.

"Wow. That was interesting, un. I think?" Deidara mumbled, confused.

"Mhm." Sasori sighed, nodding, "I you're going to be working here for long, you'll have to get used to things like this…"

"Heh. I think I can manage, un," he laughed, and the competitive spark returned in his visible eye. "But Sasori-san, what do you say about comparing our art, un?"

"You'd never win, so I wouldn't bother embarrassing yourself…"

"Haha! Aw, you're cocky, un!" He grinned wider, "So does that make you the art master? That means you're…Sasori no Danna."

"Danna?"

Yet in a strange way, the puppet maker liked hearing his name come out that way from Deidara's mouth…

"Yeah, you're Sasori no Danna, un. But really, will you show me your art sometime, un? Will you, Danna?"

"Um…maybe. We'll have to see. I don't know."

Because he wouldn't mind seeing the new barista outside of Starbucks sometime. No, he wouldn't mind much at all…


	4. Sparkle, Sparkles, Sparkling Dei

**A/N: **Thank you everyone!! :D I'm so happy you like it…! So…many…reviews….and…alerts…! How is that even possible? xX I'll try my best for you. :3 Here's chapter four! It's sort of here to fill up some time, but please enjoy it. I know everybody hates fillers, so you'll be happy to know that for the next chapter, I have an EXCURSION planned! Which will involve weirdness and bad singing from Hidan. X3 Review if you like it, pleasey?

If I owned Naruto, Orochimaru would be in jail because HE SCARES ME TO DEATHHHH. AUGH…!! -hides-

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

FOUR

_Why did I choose to live off-campus? Why? _Sasori scolded himself, sprawled in the chair at his work bench, the fan in his window blowing on high. It was too hot a day for this…

A half finished puppet lay in a heap on the desk, and he stared at it scornfully. According to the theatre's order, it was meant to be a well-meaning thief, a heroic one. The show it was for was some sort of reworked Robin Hood thing, nothing too special, but Sasori couldn't figure it out. The damn thing wasn't turning out the way he wanted it to… Something was wrong; he just couldn't pinpoint how to fix it. How could he give this puppet _life_?

"I should have stayed in the dorms…why the hell was I stupid enough to rent this apartment? There was plenty of space in my old room…but now I've got to pay for this place every month…eh. I'm an _idiot." _He grumbled, tossing his sketchbook away. The only reason he was taking on extra jobs was so he could afford his rent.

Well, maybe also so he could afford all the extra Starbucks runs, but most of those were brought on by frustration from the puppet orders…

So it wasn't the coffee's fault.

It could _never _be the coffee's fault. (Even if it was.) Because, just as Konan had put it that one day, it was the Nectar of the Gods.

No one could ever blame something as sweet as that, right? It was sort of like the way pet owners believe that their dog or cat can do no wrong, you know…? Even if technically they _watched_ Rufus chew up your sandal…?

Yeah, coffee was that way too.

But really, it wasn't the coffee's fault.

Sasori promised it…

Eheh.

"Okay, time for a break." The redhead stretched, gave the bothersome project one last condescending look, and set off for greener meadows.

Meadows with twin-tailed mermaids and cute boys named Deidara.

_Woah, did I really just think that…?! Cute boys named…? Um. Wow, I did. Where did _that _come from? Ah…it must mean that I need caffeine. I'm loosing my head, that's all…_

Cute boys named Deidara.

Hm.

--

Admittedly, the said boy _was _sort of cute when Sasori found him attempting a Sudoku at a corner table.

"Shouldn't you be making coffee?"

"Oh, Danna!" Dei smiled, waving his pencil cheerfully. "Hi, un. I guess I should, but it's empty here right now, un. You're the only one."

"Oh…" Aha. He hadn't noticed. Deidara's was the only table occupied at the moment.

"Kakuzu-san is working tonight though, un! So really it's his fault that I'm out here. He said he wanted to handle all the money, un…" He lowered his voice, "He's not going to rob us, is he, un? I know Leader-sama hired him a long time before me, but he got really excited when I opened the cash register for him, un…"

"Haha!" Sasori tittered, "Kuzu is Kuzu, he just does that."

"Oh." The new kid brightened. "Good, then!"

"Blondie! Is someone here?" The miser's voice floated from up ahead. "If they're staying, make them buy something! I don't want them taking up our air if they aren't going to pay for it in some way or another…!"

"Kakuzu-san, it's me." Sasori called.

''Ah, only Sasori. Even though I never bet, I'm sure _you'll _get something. Because, I mean really…you're _you."_

He smirked lightly. What a reputation he had. "I guess…can you make me a…God, I don't even know. Deidara-san, what do you have?"

"Me, un?'' The blonde blinked, "Oh, it's a…a café latte."

Kakuzu fetched one for the puppeteer, and relished putting fresh bills in the register before Deidara mentioned to the Akasuna, "You know Danna, you don't have to call me –san, un. Dei-chan is fine."

"But I barely know you yet…"

"Hmm." He set down the Sudoku, which he was failing at, judging by all the wild eraser marks, and said, "So where would you like me to start, un?"

"What?"

"With my life story, un!"

"Excuse me…?!"

"How else can you get to know me besides from me?"

Wow, he was abrupt.

Well, Sasori was quite curious about one thing. "Okay, um… Not to pry or anything, but is it true that you set off an explosion in your art school and got expelled…?"

And how much less abrupt was he then? Ha.

Deidara stifled laughter. "Um. Heh. About that…well…! That was fun, un. See, they didn't understand my art, and I wanted to show them it, un. Only it turned out to be bigger than it should have… So you see, they sort of took it the wrong way, un. Luckily, all they did was kick me out. Ha ha…" he grinned, "But it was beautiful, un! Maybe even one of my best, un…!"

Wow, he looked like a little elementary schooler, rambling about it… He was so happy. In his face there was a sparkle, a sparkle of a mission. No matter who told him no, it was like he'd plow through anyway. Despite how Sasori strongly disagreed with his opinion, he could tell Deidara meant that he was serious, and the red head couldn't help but respect it some.

"Oh, Danna! When can you see it, un? My art!"

"Ah, damn, I forgot…"

Deidara's expression fell, and he whined, "Don't you want to decide which is better, un…?"

"No, I do!" Sasori reassured him, and it wasn't a lie, just more of a fib. His puppets would be better without any question, but of course. Only he still felt himself drawn to the blonde himself.

Sasori wanted to see Deidara.

Only he still couldn't figure out _why _he was so entranced by him.

"Yaye, yaye, yaye, un!"

Draining the rest of his lovely coffee, Sasori semi-reluctantly mentioned, "I need to go now, though. There's a puppet I have to make."

"Aww. Okaysie, un. If you have to…"

"Hey, I'll think about when we can compare, though."

Deidara perked back up, his lopsided grin returning. "Heh! Thank you, Danna, un!"

"Bye…"

_I wish I didn't have to leave. I wish I could stay here and keep talking to you. _

"Bye bye, Danna!"

--

When he returned to the puzzling puppet-in-progress, he suddenly found that it was not quite so puzzling. He'd managed to find the feeling he wanted the face to bring.

Since the puppet was meant to be a good thief, it was bound to have non-believers in the higher-ups. So, Sasori felt that the puppet's face should reflect how firmly it still had faith in its cause. Though he'd give it a slightly boyish face, its eyes would receive a firm luster. A gleam that showed his stubborn conviction.

When Sasori carved that luster, it was Deidara's perpetual happiness he held close in mind.

No, hold on…it wasn't Deidara in his head, it was… It was _Dei-chan's _sparkle that he drew from.

There would never be a way to capture all of that unique energy. If there was, it would have to be via fireworks. Unfortunately, he _had_ to be fleeting in every way. There would be many, many colourful fireworks going off everywhere in a mess, yet still were somehow harmonious.

Yes, that was Dei-chan.

Sasori could tell already.


	5. We Could Totally Be Rock Stars

**A/N: **Um…howdy! So, here's what's up. My computer is sort of rebelling, so I sent this to my friend to post up, because I know it's been a while since I updated this story… xX'' Urgh, sorry! But here it is, and I like it. Yeah, but my compy's screwy, so when I don't reply back to you, that's why…but I still love you! Very, very much! -hugs- :3 But I'm mute… xD Bleh. Thank you for reading, though! And, I've planned out this series; there should be twenty or so chappies! Whoo! I hope you like number five. Please review! :D

I don't own Naruto or the songs in here.

(Oh, and the intro-scene thing is semi-inspired by 13figureskater-Draco'sgirl's story _Oh, Lovely. _:3 Go read it! It's in my favorites somewhere.)

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

FIVE

Sasori entered the warmth of Starbucks to quite a strange sight. Konan busied herself making a certain someone look pretty, and both of the involved parties were so focused on the task that the puppeteer nearly laughed.

Okay, so maybe he did laugh.

It wasn't every day you found Konan and Deidara debating which shade of nail-polish would look best on him.

"Um. What is _this?" _Sasori asked, picking up a bottle, a dark grey called Night Vision. "He already sort of looks like a girl, Konan."

"I resent that statement, un!" Dei huffed, patting his hair defiantly.

"Aw," she pouted, setting down the black she'd been shaking. "We thought it might be fun…"

"Yeah, un. For tonight. Uwah, it's going to be fun, Danna! You're coming too, right, un?"

Sasori searched his memory. Let's see, let's see…tonight? Eh…what? "Um…where are we going?"

"Oh, damn! Did I forget to tell you?" Konan slapped her face. "Gah. I am so scatterbrained it's not even funny…everyone is going to karaoke tonight! You should too."

Well. Karaoke usually involved singing. Actually, it always did unless you were just going to sit there and watch…which was pretty much just being a waste of space. And, erm…Sasori didn't take too well to singing outside of his shower.

The eager blonde must have seen his discontent, because he poked him with a coffee stirrer hopefully. "It will be fun, un! Can't you take one break from being a responsible student and have some fun, un?"

It was the youthful sparkle that never left Sasori's eyes that Sasori saw grinning up at him. It was the youthful sparkle that made him say yes.

_Shit. I'm an idiot._

Akasuna Sasori, singing?

Now that was new and unexpected. Then again, being under the influence of caffeine can influence a person's decision-making skills…

--

_I am going to die, aren't I? Are they going to make me go up and do a song? Oh no, what if they threaten never to give me coffee again if I don't do a song…?! Oh no, no, no…that would be so horrible…!_

So he was pretty much stuck. Those people (awesome as they were) were very unpredictable; who knew if they actually _would _refuse to sell him coffee? That could ruin his entire life, even though it seemed like such a frivolous thing to ruin his life…

Honestly though, Starbucks was the biggest chunk of his diet. The rest of it was mainly potato chips and peanut butter and jelly. Depressing, sort of…but he was simply to busy with college shit to make real food for himself and eat properly.

He worried about his pathetic voice as he put the finishing touches on his Robin Hood revival puppet. It wasn't bad. When he'd figured out the face, the rest had come easily. He was proud of it, and that rarely happened. Sasori always felt like he could do better, usually finding some detail to obsess over and hate, but not on this one.

Even though he was happy with the puppet, it didn't do much to distract him from the problem at hand. He still couldn't sing, dammit. But he'd promised stupid Deidara…

There wasn't any way he could bring himself to disappoint stupid Deidara.

--

Walking to the karaoke place, who would of course he end up crossing paths with than him?

"Danna, un! Hi!"

Sasori shoved his hands further down into the pockets of his black sweatshirt, wondering why the hell he was always getting caught with that guy. More importantly, he was wondering why he was secretly happy. "Hello, Deidara."

"Are you excited, un? Are you, are you, un?"

"I'm elated."

Dei frowned. "You don't seem so elated, un. You're frowning…I can see, you know."

"Mph." He grunted, screaming in his head for it to stop being happy the blonde was beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"Eh. Um. Well," he started, his mouth dry, "I'm not very good at karaoke."

"Oh, is that all, un?" He laughed, flipping his hair out of his eyes in that sexy way he had.

What?! _Sexy?! _No. no, he did not think that. Did he…?

Well, Sasori never _had _found a girl who was even remotely interesting enough to him to even consider asking out, and sometimes he _did _pause a moment more he probably should have to look at a guy, but…

_Deidara?_

From Starbucks?

"You'll be fine, Danna, un." The pyromaniac assured him, turning into the doorway of the karaoke place. "I can't sing that well either, so…"

"Yeah, okay. Maybe."

Like a trusting puppy, Sasori followed the other inside.

--

"Hey, you stupid motherfuckers!" Hidan called, waiting with Kakuzu and Zetsu. "You're late. Everybody else is waiting in the room."

"I paid for two hours." Kakuzu added, "I don't want to waste money…"

"But it's okay." Zetsu's nice personality mentioned, but it quickly swapped sides, "_Just don't do it again!"_

Yeah, his split personality disorder tended to get creepy. Worse so when he didn't have his coffee. He had it more than Sasori, the whole coffee-ruling-your-life thing.

"Are you coming or not?" Kakuzu set in again. "Time is wasting…!"

"Yeah, of course, un." Deidara followed, and soon they joined Konan and company in the room.

The Leader had come too, which surprised Sasori. Konan looked pretty pleased with herself about that. She stood next to him, looking smug, as Kisame rifled through the song options, holding the microphone.

"Ooh, Itachi-kun! Will you sing this?"

Itachi frowned. "Probably not. You dragged me here, remember? Against my will."

"But it's CaramellDansen! You love that."

"Shut up, you idiot…!"

Suppressing laughter, Sasori wondered, "How's Jeffery?"

"He's fine…"

Smiling, Kisame elaborated for him, "He bought him a gigantic aquarium, all of the one fish…and he's giving him this crazy expensive super-diet…if I didn't know better, I'd say he _loved _him."

"Shut _up, _you idiot…!"

While they bickered, Hidan took over the song titles, and his face lit with happiness as he found something. "Oh my Jashin! Dude! They have this here? Give me that mic!"

Sasori chose to listen more to Kisame and Itachi until the all-too-fitting chorus.

It was some sort of loud metal song, and Hidan gleefully was screaming along, "Die motherfucker die motherfucker die motherfucker DIE! Die motherfucker die motherfucker…"

Et cetera.

Wow.

The night continued, Konan belting out expertly a Paramore song, and even Kakuzu seemed to be enjoying himself now that people weren't 'wasting money'. Sasori even let himself relax some when he saw that, and he was pleased that no one had asked him yet to—

"Hey, Danna! Will you sing something with me, un?"

A nightmare.

He blinked, already feeling sweat on his pale skin. "Well…"

_"You'll be fine, Danna, un! I can't sing that well either, so…"_

_"Yeah, okay. Maybe…"_

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps he would surprise himself?

"I'll try it."

Deidara smiled, handing him a second microphone. "Do you know Yellowcard, un?"

"A little."

"Good!"

Quickly, the opening notes to the song rolled out of the speakers, and Sasori uncertainly helped with the first lines, his throat feeling dry.

"You're making a choice to live like this… In all of the noise I am silence… We already know how it ends tonight, we run in the dark in a firefight…and I would explode just to save your life, yeah I would _explode_…!"

He grew more at ease with every word, letting them come out of his throat like he didn't care anymore. It was…fun.

Into the chorus, they thundered.

"Let me light up the sky! Light it up for you… Let me tell you why I would die for you, let me light up the _sky…"_

_But you know what, Dei-chan? Right now, I'm really starting to feel like that's true…and I shouldn't, but I'm getting so tired of pretending I wouldn't. So you know what? I'm going to try to break away from this thing I have in my head that makes me so solitary…let me show you…_me.

He was breathless as it faded out, but the grin he had strangely pasted on his lips had never been there before. He was happy for the change in his usually expressionless face…

--

After their two hours, he and Deidara walked together of the sidewalk, and Sasori finally opened a conversation. "You still want to see my art?"

The look on Deidara's face was shock, but a pleasured shock. "If you'd show it to me, un!"

"Of course."


	6. My Art Is Better Than Your Art Round One

**A/N: **Hi! :D I'm back, with six for you…! It's a little bit shorter than the last, but that's where I felt like it should end, so. I'll have more soon. :3 Hehe. Hope you enjoy! Please review?

Hello, my name is Disclaimer. How may I help you?

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

SIX

Karaoke hadn't been as hellish as Sasori had expected. That had probably shocked his brain into thinking it was okay to let Deidara see his art. God, why did his brain always have to fizzle out at the worst times? Just when he started to possibly realize that _possibly _he had a not-so-tiny crush on the damn pyromaniac, he went and invited him over.

What was he _thinking?!_

He wasn't thinking. That was exactly his problem. Augh. Life hated him. He didn't need it to be this stressful. Already he had plenty of things to worry about; finishing art school alive, paying his rent, remembering to breathe in and out everyday, and now he'd added this Deidara thing.

He'd only come to work at Starbucks a few months ago now, so Sasori barely knew him. Well, he should have barely known him, but he spent too much time at the coffee house chugging down cappuccinos for that. Yeah, he did know him pretty well for the three months he'd been there… Sasori knew enough to know that even though he was bothersome, he was a nice person. A very nice person. Too nice, damn it! Why? Why did he have to find him so nice…?

Stupid things like this never happened to Sasori Akasuna. He never let them happen; because he knew how stupid they were.

Denial was a riot to be in.

Sasori was fickle. One minute, he was in happy old denial, and then he was not, and now he was back in it again… Denial was what he liked, though. Admittance was what he hated. Denial was much, much easier to do.

But, Deidara had been invited. There was no way to un-invite him now. He was going to come; Deidara was going to come soon.

Sasori had denied and admitted himself right into quite a pickle.

Damn.

He almost liked the pickle…almost.

--

They were scheduled for the first leg of the ''art show'' (Sasori's half) on the third day after the fateful karaoke night. When the puppet maker went to Starbucks to pick up Deidara, everyone was still buzzing about the songs. And yes, the coffee did help to stimulate the buzz.

"Hidan, yours was on crack!" Konan chortled, poking him in the shoulder. "Where the hell do you find music like that?"

"What? It's a great fucking song. I love Dope. And their concerts are even better."

"Wow. Just wow."

"What? What's wrong with it?"

"Hee hee. I love to make fun of you…" She grinned, squirting whipped cream over a steaming cup.

Listening to them badger each other made him a bit more relaxed before Deidara noticed him and came racing to meet him. "Danna, un! I've been waiting for this, so it had better be good."

"Those sound like fighting words." Was he flirting? _Tell me I'm not flirting. Quit it. Now. You're supposed to be focused on school, okay? Not this guy. Not how you want to be flirting with this guy…_

Deidara grinned widely, holding open the door for them. "They are, of course. But since mine will be better, I don't have to worry, un. No matter how good yours is, mine will win, un."

"I'd hate to see you cry, so I'll let my art be the bad guy and correct you."

_I thought you said to stop it!_

_You did. But earlier you said you might die for him. Now who's being over dramatic for a person you 'apparently' don't care about?_

Oh, great. Now he was having split personality issues. What a _great _time to turn into Zetsu. As long as he didn't start having conversations out loud… Geez. And he'd even had five cups of coffee! It certainly wasn't withdrawal that was making him this way, that was for sure…

_You got that right._

_I'm not Zetsu. I'm not going to start talking to myself like Zetsu._

_Fine._

_Fine!_

_FINE!_

Oh, a Tylenol would be nice. Maybe even a handful of Tylenol. Hell, why not just down the whole bottle? But he _was _right that he was being over dramatic if he didn't care at all for the blondie. Yeah, he knew he was doing very badly at being in denial…

Either Deidara was oblivious to Sasori's tension, or he was being polite and not mentioning how his companion was totally twitching as he opened the door to his apartment.

"Uwah…! How can you afford this? It's bigger than mine, and you're still trapped in the smothering world of school, un…!"

"You hated going that much that you'd call it 'smothering'?"

Deidara pulled a grimacing face as he answered, "Where I went, they were so hypocritical… They were all, 'Be yourself', but the moment I did something that was actually creative with myself, they turn up their noses and everything… I was _glad _to be kicked out, un!"

"Wonderful." Sasori murmured, not sure what to think. So, he moved onto territory he knew well; his puppets. "Well, my projects are over here…"

He led Deidara into his shop area, where he'd arranged some of his favorite works. Among them was the Robin Hood, which he'd been putting off delivering. He wanted all the time he could to study what made it best.

The answer was that that puppet actually looked like it might have a soul somewhere. All the others with their dead doll eyes couldn't be pictured coming alive.

"Oh, wow, un." The blonde instantly gravitated to it, running his hand over the wood. "It's not bad. But it could be better, un. It's too eternal…"

"Eternal is what art is supposed to be." Sasori pouted, remembering that this kid excelled not only in being cute but also in being expertly annoying. "Stupid."

"Ha!" He scoffed, picking up the puppet. "Danna, you need some spontaneity in your life, un! You can't sit around looking pretty forever, because you'll get atrophy. You need to be pretty while moving, un. Do something unexpected! Observe, un."

Before Sasori could save his art from the humiliation, Deidara had swept it up and began dancing around the room, swaying with it to an imaginary music box.

"What…what are you doing?!" he sputtered, blinking.

"Being fleeting, un!" came the cheery reply as he flitted back to wear he started, plunking back down the Robin Hood. "See? It's already over."

"What the _hell?!"_

"Aw. You act like an old man, un. You don't like change, do you?"

"No!"

He smiled, a big, wide, sparkling smile that caught Sasori off-guard. "Well. We'll have to do something about that, won't we, un?"

"Do we have to…?"

Nodding, Deidara said, "Definitely. Because you're going to waste away to nothing if you keep coloring inside the lines, un."

"I like coloring inside the lines…" he rebuttled feebly.

" So does everyone else." The pyro pointed out, "And if you turn out to be just like everyone else, that's just boring, isn't it?"

"Well…" Damn. Deidara was right. The kid was smarter than he looked.

"I'll have you convinced when you see _my _art, un!" he chuckled, excited to show it off. "You won't be able to deny anything then!"

Deny?

Damn it.

He was right again, except Sasori had already mostly lost his denial ability. At least his inner denial. That dance had sealed it…

He had a crush, and a big one.

On Deidara.

Deidara from Starbucks.

Who would have figured?

Probably anyone with open eyes, but Sasori usually kept his screwed tight shut. Something about that spirited blonde happened to make them see his smile. And once he'd seen his smiled, Sasori had wanted another smile.

And another.

And another.

Now, how did he ask for one?


	7. Rainbow Sprinkles Turn the World Around

**A/N: **I got this out kind of quickly! Aha, I'm proud of myself. :3 I guess I'm hyper and happy because got new clothes at Hot Topic (My looooooove!) yesterday and there's only eight more days until my Paramore concert. Waiting for concert dates to come always makes me hyper. XD Haha. So I'll most likely be writing a lot this week! Huzzah! So, chapter seven. Please review?

I don't own Naruto.

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

SEVEN

In times of such deep romantic turmoil, Akasuna no Sasori turned to soap operas for consolation. (Can you say guilty pleasure?) Knowing that other people's lives (however fictional they may be) were going worse than his always made him feel better.

Surrounded on all sides by bags of his favorite junk foods, he watched as Johnny and Lulu ran into yet more trouble on General Hospital. Hadn't anyone ever explained to them that jailbreak wasn't the best idea? Oh, what drama. And all from the comfort of his very own couch…

The show cut to commercial and he chomped on Doritos, pondering. Epic loves stories were so…epic. Not to mention unreachable. Dreaming was fun, though. Sasori did have a sensitive side, after all. He simply tended to misplace it around people who weren't made of wood and crafted by his own hand. Yes, there came out another semi-dirty little secret. Sometimes he talked to his puppets. Most every day, actually.

The red-head wasn't particularly proud of that, but it filled the hours and got rid of some of his loneliness. In that empty apartment, the days could be pretty bland… Daytime TV dramas could only take up some of the time, see. He recorded several of them to view after his classes, but there was still plenty of room for the possibility of Deidara.

Sasori purposely left these slots open.

Deidara from Starbucks was _definitely_ on his mind, and he was done with trying to get him out. The blonde wasn't budging. Nope.

Heh.

Soon, the previews for the next episode were running. Sasori swallowed, crumpled down the top of the bag, and twisted on a rubber band. Only one hundred and twenty minutes until he went to meet Deidara to see his so-called art…

Augh, that would not be long enough to get ready.

_Damn, I shouldn't have eaten so much. I'll freak out and get queasy…dammit, I'm an idiot. Ah, oh well. _

Facing one of his puppets, it was time to practice.

"Hey, what's up…?"

No.

"Hi! Hello! Um…"

Not a chance.

"Yeah, I'm here. So…blah."

Again, _no._

"Yo, wuzzup, brotha? Homie?"

Oh, _hell _no.

"Why hello, I think I might want to fuck you. Any objections?"

HELL hell no! _Not _that! Not that… Oh, he wasn't doing so well. Giving up was so welcoming…

Needless to say, that's what he did. He decided to just let Deidara do the hello part, since Sasori really sucked at it.

_Really _sucked at it.

--

Sasori hated waiting. He hated it right then possibly more than he ever had, since he was standing outside Deidara's door. Well, he hoped it was Deidara's door. The instructions to it had been sort of confusing… On top of that, the puppet maker's stomach was growling again. All of the worrying had probably burned off every calorie already. God, it was making such horrible gurgling noises. How absolutely _charming… _He knocked on the door a second time, very nervous he'd gotten the wrong place.

Inside, something scampered down a hallway, obviously running into something on the way, judging by the loud thunk. The door swung open, and Deidara offered an embarrassed grin, patting his forehead. "Danna, un…! Ow. I ran into the wall on the way. Ow. I always forget it's there when I'm thinking of something else, un…I forget to turn the corner. Ow. Come in."

Well, it was a sharp angled wall. Sasori gave it that. And he did know what it was like to be so enveloped by an idea that it took over your senses. "So where's your art?"

Deidara shook his head. "It's too early; I don't want to waste it, un. We have to wait until it's darker. There's nothing like sparks in a still, black night suddenly taking over the silence…ah, it's beautiful, un!"

_Wait, wait, what do you mean until it's dark? That's at least an hour from now…I can't be spotlessly perfect for an hour with _you, _dammit! _It really sort of sucked to know and admit that you didn't mind someone else's company. Yeah, that was slightly uncomfortable when you were starting out. And it would be even if Sasori _wasn't _a total social dropout. "So…what should we do until then…?"

_Stop it. You're not acting like yourself._

"Oh. I hadn't really though about it, un…"

Great. Spending an evening in awkward silence was always so fun. It was so distressing that Sasori's stomach roared again.

Deidara noticed, and he sprouted a slight smile. "Are you hungry, Danna? Come on. I have rainbow sprinkles, un."

Rainbow sprinkles?

Okay…

He followed the blonde into his small kitchen. Promptly, he was served a bowl of ice cream that was festively dotted with colorful confetti sprinkles. It was a sharp contrast, he thought, to Deidara's all black clothes… Yeah, this guy was weird. "Wow. I didn't really see you as the ice cream and rainbows type. But I guess I'm wrong?"

Deidara laughed, dumping sprinkles onto his own bowl. "Danna, you aren't very good at life at _all, _are you, un?"

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, that was a little rude, un. I mean, you're successful as for as like business or pleasing other people goes, but you don't know how to make yourself happy, un."

How did he know that? "I'm not so sure I understand."

Deidara thoughtfully chewed on his spoon. "I guess it's sort of like the spontaneous thing I was talking about before. You remember?"

"Yeah." Of course he remembered; he'd almost had a heart attack! The next day he'd delivered the Robin Hood revival puppet to the theatre so nothing worse could happen to it.

"Okay. So no offense or anything, but it's almost like you're trying _too _hard at everything, un."

"What?" Sasori almost felt invaded, because Deidara was getting it more right than anyone before had… Still, he was mesmerized in some way and he wanted to know more. Locked up alone in his apartment, he couldn't figure any of this out, no matter how hard he tried…

_Trying _too _hard._

Oh.

_I see…_

"Um…let me try to say it this way, un." Deidara continued, "Take these awesomely yummy rainbow sprinkles, for example. Life is really bleak and bad at times, and there's no way around that, because it is. Someday you have to realize that there is in fact some brightness in it, like these sprinkles, un. You just stumble on that by accident, and suddenly it's all easier, un… If you look too hard, you'll never find that out, and you'll go on with hating the black and hating yourself when there is no reason to be doing that. Which isn't good, un. See?"

Sasori stared down at his bowl. Yes. Yes, he saw. After a moment, he murmured, "Dei-chan, you're also much smarter than I thought you were."

"Un?" His head shot up, and he blinked.

"Huh…?"

"Did you call me _Dei-chan, _Danna?"

Oh, damn. He had.

"Ha! You _did _understand my long rant-y philosophy whatever it is thing, un! Wow, wow, you're the first person to actually even _semi _get it!"

"Really…" As he swallowed a spoonful, Sasori felt better. With every next spoonful, he felt even more better. How odd… He wasn't used to this feeling of lightness.

_I guess I'll have to go out and buy myself some rainbow sprinkles, then._

He wondered if they tasted alright with coffee flavored ice cream.

"Oh, Danna! We could probably head outside now, un. It should be dark enough now." He rushed into another room to get a well-crafted clay bird sculpture and a lighter.

"Hold on. Outside?" Just how _big _was this thing going to be?

Deidara nodded. "Yeah. Of course, un. This one is my special kind. Only the best for you, un. I don't want to mess up my house with it, so…"

Ah, this smelled like possible trouble.

"Isn't there like a city ordinance or something that says we can't set off fireworks randomly…?"

Deidara cackled, sprinting out the door. "Screw the damn rules, un!"

Tentatively, Sasori filed after him. Clearly, rules meant utterly nothing to die-hard pyromaniacs…


	8. My Art Is Better Than Your Art Round Two

**A/N: **AUGH! I am so late with updating. xX School started Tuesday, so it's put me behind on everything… I'll try really hard to write during lunch or empty times though…! :3 All my fics will get updated when the Gods of Muse permit. Today they said Cappuccino, so Cappuccino! Yaye. And I like this chapter. Hee. FLUFF TIME. So enjoyyy! Please review?

If I owned Naruto, I would rename it Akatsuki. :D

--

A Tall Cappuccino With a Dash of Yaoi

EIGHT

--

Akasuna no Sasori did not enjoy putting himself in potentially illegal positions. Deidara did have a point in saying that most everyone loved fireworks, police included, but it wasn't even a holiday, for Chrissakes! No one in the city was expecting loud booms tonight.

Sasori wasn't expecting to be arrested for inciting panic tonight. Nor was he planning on it. Of course, Deidara didn't seem to be planning or expecting it either, but he was having the time of his life, so he didn't care.

Now, Sasori wasn't a liar. So he wasn't going to say it looked like shit. It was beautiful, really…bright colors taking charge of the sky as they burst out looking like giant fireflies coming awake. It was very pretty…

Erm. Not that it was anything even close to art, though. Because art was _decidedly _not fleeting, of all things.

Deidara grinned so widely that it seemed like his jaw might crack from the strain as he set off another. "Well, Danna? Isn't it amazing, un…?"

The firework popped into life, and the glow from it reflected some on Sasori's face. Glancing upward, he watched the alight shards of the sculpture fizzing. It wasn't art anymore. Of course not. But it did make him happy inside…he didn't know why, but watching them blossom made him happy. His puppets never made him feel quite like that…

The blonde had an ability to make people smile.

There.

The answer.

He could put a sweet smile on anyone he met without even trying. Sasori had seen this happen, including just today; with the way he delivered peoples' coffee to them. Somehow he had a certain touch about him that brought on a light-hearted gleam into the air. No one could escape it. It would grab you by the neck and force you to smile…

_Dei-chan, I really don't understand you, but…you're interesting. Yes, very interesting._

"Amazing?" Sasori murmured, knowing full well that it was, but not only due to the fireworks. "Hm. It's not bad. Definitely not bad. But it's wrong."

Deidara snorted, his visible eye laughing at the treat of yet another debate. "Think whatever you want, Danna, un! Art is a perception of your own eyes, so. See what you will, un. Maybe though, you could expand your view sometime…?"

No answer.

Dude. Alright. Fine. Yes. The red head was stubborn as hell, got it? His view was locked. Locked.

Nobody was going to move it.

Except for quite possibly that damn blonde, because Sasori couldn't stop looking at him from the corner of his sight as he proudly watched his 'art' go off.

It was all going well enough, better than Sasori had assumed it would.

Well _enough. _Key point there. Because Deidara was too content about 'screwing the damn rules, un', and apparently not _everyone _loved fireworks.

Example number one of the We Hate Your Not-True-Art Club: the cranky old man who came shaking his fist at them.

" 'Ey! You there! Quit that 'fore I call the feds on your arses!" he threatened, thrusting a finger at Dei.

Startled, he stopped before he sent out another sculpture to be demolished. "…un?"

"Stupid kid, you heard me! And I heard _you, _believe you me, with your blasted…yes, your BLASTED bangs! Blasting _real _big, ain'they…?! And wakin' up the whole city, no doubt!" The man shoved his finger closer, so that it was ridiculously close to Deidara's nose.

"Ahm…sir, have you ever heard of personal space, un…?" The pyromaniac stumbled through with a suddenly dry mouth, "I'm sorry for waking you up, but…"

"Oh, by Jove you better be! And don't you back sass me, kid…! Your generation is all the same, only caring about their own good times; all you, you, you!"

"Might I suggest that you get some coffee, un?" Deidara tried to propose nicely, "It would probably do wonders for your irritable mood, sir."

"What'd you say, kid!?"

He went pale, realizing his mistake. "B-but, I meant that _helpfully, _un…! Ehh, please don't hit me…!"

Sasori grimaced as the old man narrowed his eyes, tensed up his fist, and started to pull it back to give Dei a good wallop. "Wait, wait, sir!" Sasori burst out, stepping between them.

"Oh, so now _you're _gonna interfere!" The tightly wound man scoffed, replacing his hand on his hip.

The puppet maker bit his lip. Time to play the peacekeeper, then. Or at least try to…god, this guy had issues. "Please excuse my friend, he…he's not thinking clearly at the moment."

"Not…thinking clearly…?"

"Well, we were at the bar earlier." Sasori lied, and Deidara stared at him in amused wonder. "And that's only adding to him coming up with odd ways to try to impress me…"

"Why would he need to impress some other dumb kid who's already his drinking bubddy? You ain't tryin' to trick me, are you?! Never trust a kid, never…!"

_Um. Um. Think of something, damn it! I don't want to get reported and arrested, damn it…! _Nervously, Sasori fumbled for something quick and believable that would make this old bastard leave them alone.

Leave them alone so he could hit stupid Deidara for having such a goddamn _loud _art medium for a favorite.

Quick fix, quick fix, make the old bastard go away…

And so he did the first thing he could think of.

Smiling suggestively at their opposer, Sasori swung his arm around Deidara and pulled him close. "Because he's my boyfriend, obviously. But he has a very unstable mindset about if he's 'good enough for me', or something…which is entirely pointless, because I'm the one who's not good enough for him. How many times do I have to tell you, Dei-chan…?" he swept the curtain of blonde fringe away and gave him a swift cheek-peck, and he saw him go slightly red in the dim street-lamp light.

Whoa.

One moment, please, to sort that out in his head.

_Whoa._

What the _fuck _did he just say?!

It did make the man go red, too. He tried to sputter a response, but instead shuffled off, massaging his temples, obviously not concerned about Dei's art anymore.

After a longer silence than Sasori wanted to hear, he took back his arm when Deidara slowly said, "Danna…? What just happened, un…?"

The puppeteer muddled through his sentence, "Um. I. I…got him to go…?"

"And how much of that was real?" He glanced at him, eye soft and startled.

"I'm sorry." Sasori said quickly, looking away, wishing he'd never agreed to come. He only ever made a mess of things. That was all he was good for; bringing with him a black cloud everywhere he went. He didn't have the good power Deidara had, and he never would. He wasn't capable of making anyone happy…only ruining fucking everything…everything.

Akasuna no Sasori ruined chances before he even had any. And that was why what he would always be doomed to do…that was the only way. He was so _sure _of that.

Deidara didn't stop staring. "No, why are you sorry, un? Don't be sorry, Danna."

"Damn it! How am I not supposed to be sorry, brat?!" He felt himself cracking. This whole life he was living was unbearable. "I can't _do _that! I am poison! I'm a poisoned scorpion, poisoned! And now I've done another stupid, stupid thing, only I let it come _out, _damn it. It wasn't supposed to come out, and…!"

His feverish outburst was corked when Deidara gently encased him in a hug. With his arms firm against his chest, Sasori couldn't find a reason to speak anymore. It felt so good…to be alive, for once.

With Deidara like that, holding him, Sasori actually found it feeling good to be alive.

"So," Deidara speculated, "I'm thinking it was quite real after all, un. No wonder I almost believed it too…"

Sasori sighed, relaxed at last. "Yeah. Yeah, it was about the most real thing I've ever said, actually…" Impulsive energy jolted through him, and he turned around, drew Deidara's face towards his, and softly kissed him.

There wasn't any protest, in fact it was offered back. Soon enough, Sasori was feeling so free, so unchained from the mental prison he'd locked himself in; he slid his hand under Deidara's tight black shirt. Soft skin… His other hand skimmed through Deidara's blonde hair that he'd taken to hating because just seeing the color made him clam up more often than not lately… But now, he loved its vibrancy. Part of the rainbow.

Deidara was a rainbow without being one literally. Deidara was bright, so bright that he was sometimes blinding, but you couldn't stop looking because it was so wonderful.

This moment was a snapshot Sasori wanted to take and cherish forever, but they were still outside in the alley. Stopping to take a breath, he announced with a hint of regret, "It's getting pretty late…"

"Oh, un…" Sasori's rainbow sighed wistfully, noting the street lamps were on full power. "Well. I will see you again, right, un? Please say yes?"

His heart leapt. So it wasn't some perfect fluke that was wonderful but entirely random and…_fleeting. _All of that deliberating and denying he'd done…he hadn't needed it after all? Because it wasn't a fluke? Because for once, he'd made a lucky roll…? Oh. Oh, his heart leapt. "Definitely."

He grinned, but his face turned to all seriousness. "Okay, but, um. I know this sounds stupid, and I know you wouldn't do this because…I can _tell _about you, un, but. Yeah. If I find out that you're just using me for sex and coffee or something, I'll have to kill you, un. Seriously. Ah, that sounded so stupid, un…because I know you wouldn't do that, Danna. Because I can _tell _about you, un. You're not like other people…"

Sasori laughed, "Dei-chan, of course not. You're an idiot…"

"Ehh. I know, un." He grasped Sasori's hand, their artists' fingers entwining together like vines. "But you're a self-loathing egotistical art-school-acceptable snob."

"Shut up."

"Hee. But don't worry, un. I'll teach you to be spontaneous…just wait, un!"

--

Akasuna no Sasori was not used to having a friend. Akasuna no Sasori was not used to being on the verge of loving someone. That idea was entirely new to him, and he wasn't honestly sure he could do it. In the back of his mind, it kept tapping and tapping…

Something bad always happened.

Always.

It never failed him, because he was a _poison. _The scorpion. He couldn't help it…bad thing happened around him, like his parents' deaths when he was young. That triggered his shell and his morbidity, and it grew and grew. That was why he tried _not _to make friends, as rule.

_Screw the damn rules, un. Everyone loves fireworks._

That was Deidara's rule.

But as they'd even seen that night, that rule was not always true. Someone always ended up with an objection somewhere, for whatever reason.

Sasori was scared as hell to find out where the objection would come from, but he was also scared as hell to let go of Deidara's hand now that he'd finally caught it…and he couldn't decide which one was worse to have.


	9. Dusty Old Crap is Romantic

**A/N: **Whoo hoo! I'm sitting in the waiting room of the dentist while I write this. xD Waiting for them to be done with all the processing stuff…but the verdict is that I have sparkly clean teeth. :D Moohaha. I win. So, so! I really want to say thank you to everybody who's reviewed or alerted or favorited! You make me so smiley… :3 I don't deserve it. X3 Urgh. So, new chapter for you! Because Cappuccino is stuck in my head, currently. Yaye. Have a riot! -triumphant fist pump-

Consider me disclaimed. :D

--

A Tall Cappuccino with A Dash of Yaoi

NINE

Konan was staring. Konan never stared at anyone because she was sick of being stared at herself. (Bright blue hair tends to generate a lot of long looks.) It was rude, so she didn't do it…except for now, straight at Sasori, and it was creeping him out.

The red head fidgeted, turning his head back slightly to glance at her. Jesus, she was so zoned into him! She poured a venti latte without breaking it.

Sasori shifted uneasily, wondering what was up with her. Was she stoned? Did she have a hangover and was simply oblivious to life…? Damn, that was scary. "Konan-san? Are you alright…?"

She jumped, her intense stare fading. "Oh! Oh, sorry, Sasori-kun…"

"Um, yeah. What…what were you looking at…?"

Konan studied him for a moment more, trying to figure out something. "Well, don't feel weird or anything about it, but…" (Ha. Too late for not feeling weird.) "You seem different today. You're like…like…I don't know you look _happy."_

"Happy?" Sasori repeated, blushing. Was that so rare for him…? Oh. Actually, it was, wasn't it? He was seldom ever happy, and he'd never noticed being visibly happy of all things just sitting and drinking coffee.

(Not to say coffee didn't make him a gleeful, caffeinated, hyper, psychotic-yet-fine-with-that person.)

"Like really happy." Konan continued, chewing on her thumbnail in concentration. "Are you feeling okay? This is like…_bizarre."_

Grimacing with embarrassment, Sasori twirled the sleeve of his cup, a tell-tale nervous habit of his that Konan had picked up on by then. When he assured her that he was the same, she knew he was fibbing.

"Hey! Don't think I'm oblivious to everything! I get enough of that from Pein… So fork it up! You're _happy, _aren't you? Sasori! Hey!"

By now he was blushing madly, and when his phone rang from inside his pocket, he was grateful for the rescue.

Until he saw who it was.

Ah, Deidara had impeccably bad timing. Sasori took a breath and answered, a smile teasing his lips even though he tried to keep it at bay because of Konan. "Hello?"

"Danna, un! Hi…um, are you busy? It's my day off, and I want to take you somewhere, un."

"Oh. Sure. Yeah, I don't have any classes today, so…"

"Aha, good! I didn't think you did, un. Right, so you can come by my place in like twenty minutes? We can go from there, un."

"Mhm. I'll come…so where are we going?"

"To the flea market, un!"

"The…" Sasori stopped a moment to make sure he'd heard that right. "The flea market?"

"It's absolutely wonderful, Danna! You'll see, un. They have so much amazing junk…! I always go every month, un. You'll see."

"Um…okay…?"

"Awh. Be more enthusiastic! It'll be fun, un. Trust me. Okay, bye!"

"Bye…" He shut the screen, unsure. The Akasuna wasn't familiar with…flea markets. Well, he'd be with Deidara. That was worth it all in itself.

Konan was still on the prowl, ready to pounce. "So! Who was that? Tell, tell. Or I'll poke you with this coffee stirrer until you do."

"Relax, it was just my grandma."

"Oh." Yeah, sure. She saw right through him. It obviously was not old Chiyo. Whoever it was, it was the one who'd made him strangely _happy…_

"Anyway, I have to go. See you…"

"See you." She nodded, thinking. Sasori had mentioned the flea market, hadn't he?

About five minutes after he'd left, she turned to Hidan and announced, "I'm leaving early! You're in command now. May the force be with you…"

"Yo, what?! You can't just leave me here, Konan…!" Hidan whined, jugging two drink orders at once. "What…!?"

"Deal with it," she grinned, waving as she pranced out the door also.

Left by himself, the Jashinist sniffled, "Bitch."

Which really just meant he was lonely now.

Awh.

Poor Hidan.

--

Sasori surveyed the fairgrounds, which were littered with booths and tables. The whole bus ride there, Deidara had excitedly babbled about it. He'd almost been as enthusiastic as when he ranted about his art… Still, all it looked like to the puppet master was acres of crap no one really wanted or needed.

But it was for Deidara that he was here. And he hadn't realized it until Konan did, but he was happy today. Happy because of Dei…

_Brave this place, you idiot. Pull up some courage and don't be afraid of this…cluttery, ridiculous place. Oh _god, _but look at the clutter..! No, no. Brave the clutter. Listen, if you don't try to like it at least, I'll make you buy some of it, how's that? Yeah, I thought so…_

Messy places were not Sasori's strong suit of places to live in. He was sort of obsessive compulsive about that sort of thing. Just going to Deidara's unorganized apartment had made him twitch some. But this? Augh.

Puppets had clean, well-plotted lines. They had a plan to them, and if you followed the plan, it would be fine and nothing would end up ruined. That was why he liked them…they wouldn't make a mess anywhere.

As for the fireworks…? Fine, because they disintegrated mostly in the heat, cleaning themselves up.

The flea market?

Shit, it was a warzone of piles of _stuff._

Unidentified piles of stuff were the worst kind.

"Danna, did you swallow a fly, un? Your face is all screwed up."

"Hm? No, no. I'm fine." He tried to smile, which wasn't nearly as hard as he thought. Again with the Deidara's power to make people grin… "Okay. Where are we supposed to start?"

"Anywhere, un!" The blonde wandered to a table strewn with theatre props. "Ha. Look at this…am I pretty?" With a neon pink feather boa wrapped around his neck, he struck a pose.

He blushed slightly. Deidara was very flamboyant…the all around opposite of Sasori.

Sort of like that 'other half' thing, you know?

But Sasori didn't believe in that. It was too good to be true. He resigned to try it, though, to try to find out that reason to wake up every morning.

And it w_as _working…

"Is it pretty, un? Well…?"

Sasori nodded, "Very sexy."

His eye sparkling with a naughty grin, Deidara fluffed up the shocking feathers. Turning to the vendor, he offered a crumpled bill. "I'll take it, un!"

Surprised, Sasori blinked. "But you don't need that…why are you wasting your money? It's just going to take up space…"

The blonde sighed, his prize in a bag now, and led the other to the next table. "Danna, that's the point, un. You sound like Kakuzu… Now pay attention, hm? He snatched up a Nightmare Before Christmas snow globe and held it up for the narrow minded puppet maker. "Do you like this, un?"

Taking the globe, he turned it upside down to watch the sparkles rain down. "It's nice." When he wound the key at the bottom, it started to play _This Is Halloween _as well. "Yeah, it's nice. But I don't know why you're asking…?"

"You like it, so buy it." Deidara concluded, nodding his head like it was the final answer, but Sasori only cocked his head blankly.

"But why? I don't need it…"

"Danna, it's because if you don't have _fun _for no reason, you'll never be able to survive for long, un! Okay, have you ever done anything totally random just on impulse? Because you _wanted _to, un?" He dug around. "For no other reason than suddenly _wanting _to?"

_You. _The red head realized, _You. That's what happened…with you. _"Yeah. Once…" He answered.

Deidara feigned shock. "Jesus, that's a surprise of a lifetime, un…! So did it make you feel good, that thing, whatever it was? If even for only a moment, un?"

_…For more than a moment. _"It did."

"There you go!" Deidara sighed in relief, throwing his hands in the air. "There's your answer! That's why, un… Whoa. Hey, is that _Konan, _un?!" He'd noticed someone on the other end of tables, and they quickly looked the other way and ducked behind a stand-up display of hats. But the bright blue hair on her head was a beacon to who she was.

There was only one person who had amazingly unique hair like that.

_She's fucking spying on me…! _Sasori almost laughed in disbelief. Actually, it wasn't so unbelievable. Konan was the one at Starbucks who always knew each and every thing that was going on…it was just like another duty of her barista job, town watchman.

But wow, Sasori really must have been acting oddly if she left Hidan all alone. He might get pissed and yell at someone who didn't have exact change, especially if the coffee house got to be congested with people.

_But you know, she's not hurting anything. She just cares about me… _Shaking the snow globe one more time, his firm grip on rationality softened. _You know what? Fuck it. You can be a responsible adult _tomorrow. _Right now it's today…let's try this once. _"I'll buy it."

"Really, un!?"

"Yes. Really." The globe was packed into its own bag, Sasori's wallet grew slightly lighter, and he grabbed Deidara's hand. "To the next table, then…?"

Obviously, Dei hadn't been expecting a change of heart on the flea market experience to come so quickly, because he made a little gasping noise as he was pulled onward. However, a tiny, satisfied smirk bloomed on his beautiful lips, and yet again it spread to Sasori's.

Contagious.

So contagious.

Sasori shouldn't have, but he loved to catch that sickness.


	10. Stalkers, Sneezes, and Swing Sets

**A/N: **So, I'm sitting in Biology writing this, and the big black and orange fish in the corner is thrashing around in circles like it's a dog chasing its tail. o.O'' What's up with that…? It's bored, I guess…? x3 Dude, now it's staring at me. Creepy. Um. Anyway, on to the story! :D

I don't own Naruto, Biology, or the creepy fish.

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

TEN

A day later, Sasori came into Starbucks ready to get Konan to talk. He didn't care if she followed him that one day, but if she did it any more, well. That was plain stalker-like, and stalker-like behavior scared him. "Konan!" He began, taking the drink she offered him. "I saw you at the flea market yesterday… Did you find any good buys?"

She tensed up. "Oh, that wasn't me, sorry. It must have been my sister. She…she loves to go to things like that…"

"Konan-san, you don't have a sister."

"Cousin! My cousin, I mean. We're close, so I think of her as a sister…"

"So you're telling me that your blue hair is hereditary?"

She blushed, sighing. "Fine! Yeah, that was me. I couldn't help myself… But don't worry, I haven't told anyone I saw you with…" Konan paused and grinned, "…with _Deidara. _And that you kissed him."

Now it was the puppet maker's turn to blush. "Shh! I really would like that to be a secret for now… But is he here?" He looked around. "I don't see him anywhere."

"He's in the back right now. Which means you are going to tell me _everything!"_

Private person as he was, Sasori moaned, "Ehh. Do I have to? There's really not much to be said…he's adorable, if you hadn't noticed."

Konan laughed. "I have never heard you refer to anything as being adorable before. Wow. But yes, you have to tell me. It's like a law. I'm sort of a closet yaoi-fangirl, just so you know, Sasori…"

He blushed again. There was a spark in her eyes when she said that. A closet yaoi-fangirl…?! It sounded dangerous. He had half a mind to take his coffee to-go, but he _did _want to see Deidara for a moment when he came back out. "Umm. Maybe I'll tell you some later? Okay?"

"Aw," she slouched, resting her elbows on the counter. "You're making me wait? That's so evil…"

"Sorry, but I'm thirsty!" He scuttled over to his corner table, sadly aware that Konan's eyes were boring a path straight through his head. Again. Again with the staring.

Jesus, she was really starting to make a bad habit out of that…

Busying himself with the sketches he had due soon, he played with the rim of his cup. Today he didn't feel like college junk. At all. But it needed done. The deadline was creeping closer. Procrastination wasn't usually something that he did, but lately though… He honestly didn't feel like sitting around in his empty apartment being alone. He'd begun to think that maybe the reason he didn't have many friends was because he spent so many days holed up inside. Maybe that was why he tended to be so sad until Deidara came around to make him put down the work and come out to play.

From behind, someone launched a tackled hug at him, almost spilling his drink. "Danna!"

"Hi Dei…" He murmured, not caring that Konan was suppressing a squeal behind them. "You're adorable, seriously."

The blonde laughed, smoothing his long bang that hung over his face. "Really? Awh. I wish I didn't have to work, un." His voice dropped to a silky whisper. "I could put on a show for you with that feather boa I bought…"

Sasori felt his face getting red again. "And yet you can also be so…kinky."

"Another laugh from Deidara. "Kidding! Jeez, un. What a spoil-sport, un…"

Glancing over to Konan, who was still pretending not to be eavesdropping, and back to his unfinished work, a plan crossed his mind. "I might be able to get you out of here, though. I'm sure Konan wouldn't care." Oh, he _knew _Konan wouldn't care if she earned another yummy date to get details out of later.

"Would she? But what about this though, un?" Deidara flipped through Sasori's papers. "Don't you need to do these?"

"Meh," Sasori grunted, disdainfully shrugging it away and putting them back into his messenger bag. "They can wait. Hey, Konan!"

She jerked to life. "Yeah?"

"Konan-san, can I steal Deidara for a little while?" He tried n his best childish whiny voice. Wow, it had been ages since he used it to get something he wanted. Probably not since he _was _a child. Hell, when was even the last time he'd wanted something enough to lower himself to using that sort of tactic? So long that he could barely remember. "Please? Don't worry, I'll bring him back in one piece, I promise…"

It was decidedly the wild grin of a fangirl that Xeroxed itself into her eyes. "Of course you can. Of course you can!"

Ah. The part about bringing him back in one piece didn't seem to hurt. Not at all, actually. Yeah, Sasori really didn't want to know what all she was thinking about because of that phrase… "Thank you Konan!" He chirped, and grabbed Deidara's hand to whisk him away.

Confused, Deidara took a glance back at her. "Um. Danna? Why is she twirling in place? Un…? Is she alright, un…? Um… What just happened, exactly…?"

"Don't mind her." Sasori covered, "Only the caffeine, I'm sure."

"Um…okay, un. If you say so?"

_Konan, you scare me. You really do. Oh well. I love you anyway. _She was still one of his few friends, so… He'd get used to the squealing. Eventually. At least that meant she was supportive…maybe a little overly supportive, but support was still support.

--

Meanwhile, where did they want to go to? There wasn't anything exceptionally exciting to do during the afternoon. Walking down the sidewalk, the sun shone on them and Sasori suggested the first thing he saw, "Want to go to the park?"

Deidara nearly did a double take. "The park? By which you mean swinging and going down slides like little children, un…?"

He shifted. "Is it a bad idea?" Maybe that was the wrong sort of spontaneity?

But Deidara wore a sparkling grin. "No, it's a perfect idea, un!" He laughed, sprinting across the street to the swings. "Come on!"

Aha. So it was a halfway decent idea after all.

Yaye?

The puppet maker followed, taking the swing next to Dei. Already in the air, Deidara was sighing happily, "It's been so long since I've done this, un. When I was a kid at home, I had a set in my backyard, un… Even as a teenager I used to go on it. It's inspiring, I think. Like you're floating, un…don't you love this?"

Pumping his legs, the wind soon blew at Sasori's hair, tickling his face. He watched the clouds slowly move in the sky. "I don't know." Truthfully, he'd never really done many of the things people did as kids. This was only about the fifth time actually being at a park for him. A nice feeling was taking over him, though. "I'm not sure if I can think of a word for it…"

When he soared up high, it was empowering. Going down though, he always felt his eyes blinking shut until he'd returned to being up. His eyes apparently didn't want to watch the falling. Well, he'd seen enough of being so low in his life. Just fucking enough. It was scary to be down there…so like a child, he was blocking it out. To use that reasoning, the reasoning of every child, even Sasori used: If I can't see you, then you must not be able to see me, either.

Right? Wasn't that true?

Not always.

Sometimes, but not always. Sasori was an adult, a younger adult, but he wasn't foolish. He knew it wasn't always what it seemed. He _knew_, damn it, and he was so sick of hearing about it that he just wanted to quit listening.

Just quit listening.

So if he quit listening, would it then in turn quit talking?

Not always.

Suddenly he felt a headache coming on, so Sasori squinted and asked, "Dei-chan, can we rest a while, maybe?"

"Hm? Oh, sure. Of course, un." Dragging his feet through the rough dirt, he slowed his swing and leaped off.

They wandered past the monkey bars and into a small alcove where they couldn't see the road anymore, surrounded by a few trees. As they flopped down in the soft grass, Sasori sneezed.

"Do you have a cold, un…?"

He sniffed and rubbed his nose. "No, that's only allergies. The pollen here is like attacking me…"

Deidara frowned, "Oh…if it bothers you that much we can leave, un. I don't mind, really—"

"No!" Sasori stopped him, "No. I'm fine… I'd rather stay here. With you."

His eyes glowed with pleasure like one of his bright fires. "Danna, you're too wonderful, un. I have no idea why you're wasting your time with a nobody like me who can't even stay in art school, un…"

A finger to his lips, Sasori shushed him. "You're not a nobody. You're you."

He laughed again, "Oh, and you say that like it's a good thing, un!" Leaning back in the grass, he went on, "You would be the first person to put it in that way, Danna."

After another sneeze, the redhead murmured, "I wouldn't know why." He looked down at Deidara.

His eyes had closed, relaxing and soaking up the warm sun. "Apparently I'm strange, off-balance, and untraditional, un… Which isn't that far off from the truth, but I guess those aren't good things. According to the jerks at my high school, the idiot who expelled me from art school, and a bunch of other assorted stiffs, un, anyway…"

"Well," Sasori started, leaning over top of Deidara. "I've got news for you. And do you know what it is, Dei-chan…?"

He stared calmly back into his eyes. "Yes?"

"I'm not one of them," finished the puppeteer, locking him in a tender kiss.

When at last they had to stop for a breath of air, Deidara beamed, "I'm glad for that, un."


	11. Falling Victim to Closet Fangirls

**A/N: **Howdy! :D I was caffeinated and bored so I started writing. Fear me. –grin grin- So, this time Konan finally gets to have her way with Saso-kins! Yaye. Thus, on with the story! :3

Disclaimer: I am Kishimoto. Totally. Uhm. _Right…_no. xD

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

~ELEVEN~

Crouched in his dark apartment, Sasori was trying to ignore the urge to go get a latte. He tried to remember the hours that Konan worked, but he knew it wouldn't matter anyway. She lived at Starbucks just like he lived at Starbucks, and since she was expecting him she would probably stay longer. That woman was so relentless it was scary…

Sasori hugged a pillow, fighting against his boredom and his desperation for legal addictive stimulants. The coffee grounds he had in his cupboard weren't cutting it for him today, damn it. A fidgeting Sasori was not a happy Sasori, and he really wanted to suck it up and go out and be relieved. Hiding from Konan for the rest of his natural life would turn out to be pretty miserable, he was sure.

He bit his lip as he rose; hoping Konan wouldn't be overly spastic in her joy when he arrived.

--

"Dude hi SASORI!!" She chirped, slopping someone's drink on the counter as she saw him come in the door. "Oh. Um. Sorry about that. Deidara will make you a new one! Right Dei?! SASORI! Hi!!" Leaping out to meet him, she entirely disregarded the very long line of customers. "So, so? Feel like telling me a _story _today, do you…?"

Deidara, finding himself abandoned, called with fright, "Are you leaving me all alone, un…? But…! But…!"

"The manager's my boyfriend, I can do whatever I want," She grinned cheerily, leaving him without remorse to take care of everyone. Grabbing Sasori by the sleeve, she pulled him into their corner and popped him in a seat. "Okay honey. Spill."

The redhead grimaced, digging his fingernails into his palm. "Where do you want me to start?"

Konan rested her head into the bottoms of her hands, a dreamy look overtaking her bright eyes. "Anywhere," she sighed blissfully. He almost felt sorry for her if all she had to look forward to was this. Apparently Pein wasn't romantic enough? Maybe the latest soap operas weren't holding her attention…? (Sasori hated the dry spells in the plots.) The pity growing in his gut, he resolved to take her out and treat her to a chick flick at the theatre soon.

He rubbed his eye and took a breath. Deidara was such a beautiful person. Warmth bubbled up inside him, and he stole a quick look to the crowded counter. The blonde sculptor bustled back and forth, taking orders and money at the same time he was trying to clean up Konan's mess. _Ah, Dei-chan. You're so cute when you're helpless. _But he _was _helpless at the moment, and the faster he got Konan back with him the less exhausted he'd be later.

Then again, Sasori was damn jealous of that girl for getting to spend so much time with him. "Maybe I'll drop out of college and come work here," he mused, laughing slightly to himself. He was only half-joking.

"Ha!" Konan chuckled, eyeing him. "If you came here any more often than you already do, Deidara and you would never get any work done. You'd be all over each other. Kissy faces and whatnot…" A strike of interest flashed in her. "Hey, but speaking of kissy faces, how's the sex?"

"Wha…_what?!" _Sasori sputtered, so shocked at her boldness that he jumped backward far enough that his chair almost fell over. Wow, she was not afraid of anything. "You're asking me about sex now?!" Jesus, she must have been one hardcore closet fangirl. If she was really even _closet _at all.

Konan sheepishly scratched her cheek. "Um. Sorry? God, you're skitterish, Sasori."

He could feel a bright red blush painting his nose. His crimson hair didn't help matters much in that department. Konan stifled a laugh as he tried to hide it. He gave up soon enough, slumping down in defeat. "Well, we haven't actually done anything yet…" Sasori admitted, looking absently at his worn black pair of Converse. The Pikachu he'd drawn on the toe in Sharpie smiled up at him. _Do we really have to talk about my _sex life _part of it too? Fuck, I am so horrible at this!_

"Awh, I think that's cute!" The blue haired barista tittered, regarding him with an adoring grin. (How was she enjoying this? How? Did she take sick pleasure in making him uncomfortable…?!) He knew it was for his own good, though. Opening up to people was one of the first steps to being beautifully spontaneous. Deidara was always so happy when he was spontaneous. By now, Sasori was a little more than desperate to feel freedom inside his own chest…

"Cute, me?" Sasori repeated, glancing up from his graffitied shoes. "No, not me. Deidara's the cute one."

She squealed loudly, fist-pumping the air in shounen-ai fluff ecstasy. "Sasori-kun, that's exactly what makes _you _cute too! The way you arte totally doting on him lately… Hell, even Kakuzu's been starting to notice a change in the atmosphere between you two. I must admit though, I was crazy surprised that you really did go to a flea market of all things. What's up with that?"

"He wanted to go," Sasori explained, not seeing any big deal. "So I went with him… I even bought something, actually." He thought of the snow globe that now sat on his desk. All it did was collect dust, sure, but somehow he was almost proud of it. Even though it was a bit of an eyesore compared to the rest of his conservative, simple décor, he couldn't throw it away. It was like a symbol of him maybe having a chance with Deidara. He'd never had a chance with anything before. Now he was beginning to let himself _hope._

Whether hoping was a good thing or a bad thing for him, he still didn't know. Maybe he was getting greedy, maybe he was getting a little foolish, but he was tired of caring. So tired, genuinely tired of caring. He just wanted to be able to collapse and not give a shit about what fell down with him.

_Maybe I'm being foolish…_

Oh, shut up.

He was sick of listening to that capable, rational voice in his head.

_Let's run around and listen to no one. Deidara showed us how to do that; he said it was called 'fun'._

And he was right that time. Fun _was _fun.

"You bought something?" Konan asked, raising her eyebrows. The slight layer of mascara around her eyes glistened in the light. "Huh. Sasori brought something at a flea market. Sasori bought something at a flea market. Really? I can't get a mental image of that. Weird."

He shifted. "How is that weird?"

"I mean, like…" She pondered a moment. "It just doesn't seem like anything you would do. Like, ever…"

He smiled softly, stealing another look at his adorable boyfriend. By now he was getting everything under control at the counter. "Deidara's been teaching me a few things."

"Oh?"

"About art. About life. About him, and about me, too. We're like polar opposites, you know. He doesn't like to be held down by anything. He hates to have anything in his life paved down in strict concrete. Then there's me, who always gets stuck in that concrete…" He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I think I should be more like him, Konan."

Blinking, she watched him carefully. "Hang on. Did he say that? That you ought to be exactly like him…?"

"No, he just said to be myself, and not let anything else pull me down from there. Why?"

"I don't know, for a moment there you sort of sounded like you weren't Sasori anymore." She combed a hand through her hair. "It just felt a little strange for a moment. I don't know, I was probably only imagining it…"

"Oh. Okay?" Sasori cocked his head, wondering what she was talking about. "But anyway, he's really…he's really wonderful. I mean that." The college student smiled, glad he'd talked to Konan about it after all.

She smiled too, running a manicured finger over her lip piercing. "Ha ha. There you go again, being all sweet and cute. Ah, I could glomp you to death! God. I fucking love you, Sasori-kun. Love you." Then she added suggestively, "Of course, not as much as Deidara loves you, I'm sure."

"You are horrible." Sasori sneered, but her comment brought on gleeful butterflies in his stomach.

Dei was the one. He had to be. Those butterflies didn't come around for no reason.

Dei was going to rescue Sasori from that awful, lonely place he'd ostracized himself to. With all those years spent there, he'd damn near come close to becoming one of his precious puppets himself.

There was no question in saying that Deidara was good for him. No question whatsoever.

But exactly how good for Sasori was _Sasori?_

--

**A/N: **Haha, a little torturing of the darling scorpion today. :3 I forgot how much I love Konan. Okay, next chapter: Sasori and Deidara are off on another fluffy date, make a few wishes, and have a wonderful time until a few not-so-wonderful people show up. Meep.

And see the little button down there? It dispenses coffee today if you leave it a review. Deidara-made coffee. X3


	12. There's Optimists and There's Realists

**A/N: **French class is a very good time not to pay attention and write. XD Especially when there is a substitute teacher who doesn't know what the hell she's doing… :3 Taking advantage of the situation…? Who, me…? Never. XD Dammit, my stomach keeps making loud hungry-noises. X3 Oops? That's rather disruptive. -sweat drop-

~I'm a little disclaimer, short and sweet, here is my message, here is my truth:

I'm not Kishimoto. Deal with it. -smile-

I love youuuu! XD Enjoy the fluff/drama/angst of this chappie. :D

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

~Chapter Twelve~

Life was actually going very well for Sasori at the moment, all things considered. A foreign object apparently known under the name of 'a smile' was worn on his face, he'd decided stressing over a few dust bunnies on his floor wasn't a big deal, and he had Deidara. Oh, Deidara… That boy simply seemed to make everything worth the redhead's time. Take those dust bunnies, for example. Lately instead of sweeping them up like life threatening toxic waste, he'd started to amuse himself by imagining them really hopping around and eating carrots. Then again, it probably didn't help much that that same Deidara was slipping extra caffeine into his coffee.

Sasori was beginning to act like a regular, content human being.

Damn, what a sight to behold…

Since he could remember though, his internal body clock never, ever failed to schedule in something not so delightful to his life just as soon as he started behaving like a normal person. This was because Sasori plainly was _not _a normal, happy go lucky person. He wasn't. There was no way around it; he was born fucked up. No amount of caffeine was about to change that little fact.

_Jesus Christ, I swear somebody's out to get me. I can't ever catch a break, can I…?_

At least he wasn't so much a fool that he didn't know that much. Honestly, he knew it too well by then.

Poor dear scorpion.

--

"Sasori!" Deidara grinned, a fresh frappuccino geld out in his hand, and a second one on the table. He handed a cup to his addicted boyfriend. "I missed you, un."

Snatching up the coffee with a ravenous spirit, Sasori smiled slightly. "You saw me yesterday…I think that's called separation anxiety." Ah, but he was just as pleased.

"Then I must have separation anxiety, un! So, do you want to come to the mall with me? I need a new belt, un… The one I have now is sort of falling apart, un."

Sasori sucked at the frappuccino straw, already feeling a lovely brain freeze coming on. He smirked and murmured, "What if I like it better falling off…?"

Deidara blushed and sputtered, "No porn at work, un!"

"Ha." He was so cute it was unhealthy. "Of course I'll go with you. Drag me anywhere you want." Well, he'd survived the flea market. He deserved a trophy for that. The flea market was utterly demonic. Coming out of hell alive basically ensured he could come out of any place alive. Maybe slightly traumatized, but alive.

Gripping Sasori's wrist, Deidara sped out of Starbucks, eager for more bonding moments. Therapy moments, more like. That's what the puppet master was starting to fondly think of them as. He'd tried a real therapist once, complete with one of those stereotypical reclining couches, which hadn't been nearly as comfortable as they made them look on television. It wasn't only the couch though; Sasori hadn't liked the whole thing. Spilling his insane guts to a complete stranger was totally _not _soothing. All it did was make him feel more conflicted than from where he'd started. Hearing him talk about his problems out loud made him feel like an idiot and that he really was certifiably insane. Chiyo was the one who'd prodded him into a few trying a few sessions, so it wasn't much of a surprise he'd loathed it. Chiyo's ideas seldom agreed with him.

After his parents had died when he was young and he'd been sent to live with her, Chiyo didn't talk about them any. Sasori was left to think about them by himself, and all that did was make it worse. The grief, the guilt, the swirling thoughts giving him nausea all through the day and into the night until he fell into a fitful sleep filled with bad dreams. It wasn't even sleep, more like being knocked unconscious. Ha, he'd found himself wishing so many times that he could be unconscious instead of so painfully awake and alive. Immersing himself in making shelves upon shelves of puppets was all he could do to escape and numb his loneliness.

He couldn't blame Chiyo… If their positions were reversed, he wouldn't have had a clue what to do either. She had tried. He knew she'd tried. There wasn't any doubt that she'd wanted to make it better, but she didn't know how. No one had known how, not until Deidara.

With Deidara, Sasori didn't _need _to talk to flush those demons out of his head. All he had to do was listen to Dei's voice and he would start to see straighter. Everything that was always haunting him went away for a little while…

It felt wonderful.

Sasori wished so badly that the two could have met sooner. He might have been spared so much self hatred. That hatred was still in him now though, because it had infested him for as long as it had. Killing it off wasn't very probable. Something sleeping so deeply in his bones wasn't about to leave without a major, destructive fight first.

--

Finding a belt with shiny studs in Hot Topic wasn't hard for Deidara. He was in so often that the cashier knew him, not unlike how the extended Starbucks family was.

"Maybe I'll work there someday, un." The blonde artist wondered as they stepped out, the loud metal music being replaced by the subtle buzz of mall life. "I think it would be fun…"

"No!" Sasori interjected firmly, squeezing Dei's hand in his. "Then you couldn't make me my coffee… Then I wouldn't get to see you every day…"

"Awh," he melted, squeezing back. "Would you miss me, un?"

The redhead shifted his eyes down. "Yeah…" He murmured, "I would…"

Dei's expressive eyes glowed with glee. "You would." Smiling to himself a little, he noticed the large fountain in the middle of the building. "Hey, un." He mentioned, watching the water bubble. "Want to go make a wish, un?"

Sasori looked over to the fountain. A few kids were tossing coins into the pool around it. That was something he'd never found the time to do, even when he was their age. He wondered how many other things he'd missed out on, locking himself inside his room all the time. Still, even today, he was keeping himself all locked up. Just like he'd never bothered growing up, it felt like…or maybe what he'd done was grow up too fast.

Fuck it.

To hell with it.

He was going to make a wish _now. _He refused to let it be too late to be happy somewhere. _No, no…don't bother. You'll just fuck it up again and then…_

_Ah, what the hell._

Rainbows.

Rainbow sprinkles and kisses and snow globes, dammit!

"Sure." Sasori nodded, taking two coins from his pocket. "Let's go wish for something."

Dei seemed surprised for a split second, but grinned warmly, knowingly. He took a dime and studied it before closing his eyes and closing his fist around it. Drawing in a small swallow of air, he opened his eyes and tossed the coin into the water, satisfied. "Your turn, un!"

It floated gently down to the bottom. Sasori waited for it to settle in one spot before he started to think of a wish. How did a person really wish? What did he want most, anyway? Already he knew he didn't want to be selfish about it. He was sick of acting so selfishly, even though he knew all he'd do was turn around and bite that resolution in the ass too. It was time he at least _tried _to give something back for once.

To Deidara.

_I wish for you to be happy. That's all…_

And he threw in his dime, feeling accomplished, as it sat next to his boyfriend's. His _lover's_… because Dei was more to him than only a person to grope. (Not that he was opposed to groping…) Dei was somebody he could bring himself to really trust. Sasori didn't go around trusting just anyone…

"Can I ask what yours was for, un?" The sculptor looked at him hopefully. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you think saying will jinx it or something, but…un?"

"Ha…" _You're too cute. Someday that damn cuteness is going to break your face, you know that? _"It was about me hoping a certain person could always keep a smile on their lips…"

"Oh." Deidara scratched his head embarrassedly. "I must look like a total self centered asshole now, un! All mine was about was for you to kiss me… Ah, I wasted it, dammit, un!"

"No you didn't." He said soothingly, stepping forward and pulling him closer. "Your wish is granted." (Definitely not opposed to groping.)

"Mmm…" the blonde moaned, gladly submitting to the kiss. He hugged himself into Sasori, who didn't mind. It was warm when they were together. Warmth was a thing that they had been missing from his life for too long.

"Oh, fuck. Would they get a room?!" The scornful voice carried loudly across to them, and they stopped to look up. A grimacing man stood watching them with two of his cronies behind him. His eyebrows went up a moment in shock as he took Deidara in. "Oh, fuck!" He sneered. "That's another _dude._" His friends sniggered with sick mirth. "Looks like we got us a couple of dirty faggots on our hands today, boys…"

A pit formed in Sasori's belly. Why did they even care…? They didn't know them. They had no reason to bother them… They had to reason to go flinging around _hate _like that. Instinctively, he grabbed Deidara's hand again and took a step back. Now he just wanted to get away.

Deidara had other ideas. With his eyes narrowed angrily, he spat, "What does it matter, un?! Go away!"

"Ooh," the ringleader chuckled, not backing off an inch. "A feisty faggot!"

Wearily, Sasori tugged on the barista's arm. "Dei-chan, let's go, okay? It's not worth it. Please?" He didn't like the way things were going. The air was getting thicker with every word. It made him way too uneasy, and leaving sounded very good. "Dei-chan?"

"I don't' care, un." He insisted, not budging. "I'm so fucking tired of people like him, Danna!"

Hearing his pet name for Sasori made them laugh even louder. "Danna?! Jesus! That's disgusting. You're a disgrace to mankind."

Sasori flinched. _That isn't true…that isn't true!_

The leader continued to badger them, his eyes alight with malice. "So what do you think, hm? Am _I _hot? You wanna kiss _me, _Blondie?"

Deidara's teeth were gritted. "Hell no, un."

"You little _bitch." _He rasped, his fists quick to ball up. "You little _bitch!"_

"Dei, come on." Sasori whispered, feeling a cold chilly shimmy up his spine. "Please let's leave."

"But Danna—" The worked up blonde stopped midway through, having heard the tremor in his voice. Blinking once, hard and long, he tried to shake it off. "Okay…" He said slowly, quietly "Let's go. They make me so sick, un…the just make me so sick a can't take it sometimes…especially when it's with you…"

"Where you goin' you whore?!" The jeer followed them as they turned away, shuffling to safety. "Yeah, that's right! Run away. Run away…!"

Sasori hated the lump in his chest. He hated the way it was spreading to his throat and the way his eyes were starting to burn.

He hated the way that he was running away.

Again.

All he did was run away, leaving his problems to grow, letting the shit get deeper and deeper and fucking deeper. Deeper and deeper until he was standing up to his neck in it, and it creeped steadily up to his nose. Soon he knew he might not be able to breathe in it…

_Dei-chan…_

--

He tried his best to clear his head from the mental nausea, breathing in the sweet smell of Deidara's hair. They were back at his apartment now, holding each other tightly on his couch. The first time Sasori had seen the clutter and the clay strewn everywhere, he'd been appalled, but not any more. Now they were a comfort he desperately needed all day long, craving it.

That scared him because he didn't like to be vulnerable like that.

He didn't want to make Deidara vulnerable.

_Too late now…_

_…fuck._

"Are you okay, un?"

"Hm?"

Deidara looked away shyly, his brow furrowed. "You're acting all brooding and sad, un."

"Oh."

"Is it because of those assholes, un?"

"Mm. Yeah. I guess." _Partly. But mostly it's _me…_ Me being an idiot for the millionth time._

_I'll never learn, will I?_

"Don't pay attention to them, un. They don't know anything, they're just stupid bigots with no lives or brains or souls. Okay? Danna, un? Okay?"

"Of course."

"Don't let it get to you, un. Even though it got to me…let it go, un."

"Let it go?"

"Don't dwell on it too long, un. I think that's what I'm trying to say…? Because there's always going to be people like that, un. You just go on living and trying to be happy…"

"People. Ha. They don't deserve the honor of being called people, Dei. They're monsters…"

He winced. "Ehh. Danna, spreading the hate won't get us anywhere, un!"

"What the fuck do I do, then?!" He groaned, tossing back his head. Guilt was wearing on him, the guilt of knowing he hadn't tried to protect him. Instead, he'd tried to run away. Bolt.

_"Run away! Yeah, that's right. Run away."_

Obeying.

Yet again.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do?!" Sasori growled, hating himself and them and those horrible, tearing words and the world. Life was a see-saw and he was _always _the skinny, hopeless kid getting launched onto his sore ass by the huge bully. Always, and it made him want to curl up and cry for the rest of his life.

What life?

He lived an empty life of self-pity…

"Danna!" Dei whispered, trying to calm him down. "Danna, Danna…"

"No! It's not okay!" Sasori cried, full well knowing he was over-reacting. A melt-down…something he was afraid to have with a therapist or Chiyo, or even by himself. "What's wrong with me, Dei…?" He choked, springing off of the couch, watching his hands shake. "I'm so…so…I'm such a fucking _failure, _Dei! Everything…I ruin it. I kill everyone. Everyone. And I'm the only one left…"

"Danna…" Alarmed, he jumped up and grabbed Sasori, hanging onto him like a fragile precious gemstone. But he _was _fragile, so fragile. Still a child, even though he was so narcissistic and cold… "You're not the only one left, un. I don't know what all you're talking about, but you're _not _the only one, un."

"How's…how is that…?" He choked, trying to get back in control, falling limp in Deidara's grip. _Hold me and tell me I'm not crazy. Hold me and tell me the voices in my head aren't there, and I've been asleep since my parents died, and tell me I imagined _everything… _Everything, okay?_

"Me." He answered simply, hanging on. "Me. I'm not dead, u. I'm right here, and I won't leave you."

"Oh…!"

"Me," he repeated, "Me."

"That's true…isn't it…"

"Yeah, un."

_Know what I should've wished at the fountain? That I'd never thought once 'I wish I were dead'. Because if I'd never once thought that, then maybe it would still be possible for me to make you happy like I want you to always be._

_That's what I should have wished._

_'I wish I were dead', huh…?_

_Or am I already dead, because it feels so goddamned good in your arms…?_

--

**A/N: **Meep. Let me say that I really, really, really, don't like that word. The other F-word. No, not fuck, obviously, because I use that way too much… x3 But I'm using the conversations at my stupid homophobic school to characterize those assholes at the mall. -hugs Sasori- Listen to Dei, you idiot!

I hope you liked the drama though. :D I did… x3 Dammit, I just love to write angst! -shot-

Oh, and see that epic different new review button below…? Try it out…? -shot again- Damn. But I got lost trying to find my way around the new layout. XD

I loff you all!! :3333


	13. Life on a Hamster Wheel

**A/N: **Le gasp, my muse for this story is running wild at the moment! XD And and. I am drinking way too much freaking coffee but THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I REALLY HAVE TO PEE RIGHT NOW, I HEART CAFFEINE!! Yes. X3 Hell yes…

Anyways, everybody needs to go listen to Dir En Grey because they are amaaaazing and I can't believe it took me this long to actually listen to them! -eats them- :D Go to youtube now. Right now. If you like seriously psychotic, epic stuff, GOOOO. (Why does America never stock these bands in their stores? WHY?!)

Thusly, caffeinated Pizzazz says enjoy this chappie and thank you for all the reviews! -confetti-

I own…several coffee cups, a shitload of music, and too many notebooks filled with random junk. But not Naruto. :3

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

~Thirteen~

"Come on," Deidara tugged on his arm, trying to brighten up his ashy face. "Let's go get some chocolate, okay? Chocolate always makes it better, un. Don't you think so too, Danna? Danna?"

Sasori stared emptily ahead at the wall, which was lightly scarred with residue from some awry explosion or another. By then it was probably ten o clock at night. Several hours had dragged by, spent holding on to Dei and silently counting cracks in the ceiling. Somewhere along the line the sculptor had turned on the television, but had paid more attention to Sasori's face than the screen.

Right now he desperately wanted to stay away from the empty apartment of his own. That place was a fucking death trap, a spider web, and he always got stuck in it. Looking into the empty eyes of puppets all day long made his turn into the same pools of oblivion. "Chocolate…?" His throat asked dryly. It hadn't said a word since his fit after the ugly homophobia. It felt like dust was caking inside it already. Like he already might have been a corpse. "Is anywhere still open at this time…?"

"Sure, un! That's what I moved into a big city for, un. Twenty four hour marts…"

Sasori sighed. "You can stop trying to hide the fact that you're worrying about me. you don't have to be worried about me, you know. This is just what I can never get off of. Ah, you weren't supposed to be around to see that, Dei…" He shook his head. "I knew you'd worry as soon as I started shaking."

The blonde looked away, fingering a loose thread on his cough. "I think it's my job to worry about you, Danna."

"Please don't do that to yourself!" Sasori groaned. "Whatever you do don't turn into me, all right? That's really all I'm asking you…don't turn into me. Ever. Because the kind of perfection I've been looking for all my life, it…it doesn't exist. And it drives me crazy. Literally crazy sometimes…"

_Unless it exists in you… _the thought lingered for a split second before drifting away.

Deidara stood up, smoothing out his shirt. "Chocolate!" He announced firmly, nodding once more with a sense of duty. "Without a doubt, chocolate will help, un. Believe me."

"Oh, fine. If you're going to insist…"

_But you know what? You aren't perfect, and that is the beauty of you. You are the one blemish I don't feel the need to go fixing…_

_--_

And that is how the two ended up at the little twenty-four hour mart on the corner at ten o clock at night buying chocolate. That is why Sasori had the bad luck of having the wrinkly old woman at the check out notice him and come barreling full speed towards him.

_Oh, shit. She _still _shops incredibly late because she hates crowds…?_

"SASORI-CHANNNN!" She howled happily, throwing her arms around him, much to the astonished surprise of Deidara, who had just then been rounding the corner with a few Hershey bars. "Well, I THOUGHT that was you! Red hair and everything…! Why don't you ever return my calls, you horrible, horrible grandson?! Are you TRYING to avoid me…?! Although I could seriously shoot you for leaving me. Why did you have to go and leave…?"

He winced as she ranted, glancing helplessly over to a dumbfounded Deidara. "Chiyo. Chiyo… Chiyo, can _I _get a word in edgewise…?"

"GRANDMA." She corrected, shaking a finger at him. "Quit pretending like you didn't live with me for so many years! Now, isn't it past your bedtime? Weren't you the one who always scolded me for shopping at this hour? Really Sasori, I want to know why you left, I--Oh. Hello. Who's this, hm?" Her eyes narrowed as she finally saw the bewildered Deidara. "Is that a boy or a girl?"

Sasori blushed, humiliated for himself and for poor Deidara. Meeting Chiyo for the first time never failed to be a trip. Oh, and it didn't seem to get any easier the second time either. "This is my boyfriend."

Immediately her face flashed with interest. Too much interest. "Really now. What do you do? Doctor? Lawyer?"

"Um…I'm a barista, un." Deidara attempted a smile but her scornful look stopped him.

"Barista?! You mean to tell me you drink coffee for a living?!" She shook her head darkly. "That's all? Sasori deserves better than that. You're useless. Don't you do _anything _else?"

"W-well…"

"Oh, let me guess! 'Budding rock star.' You just haven't gotten your big break yet. Ha!" She laughed somewhat bitterly. "Sweetie, you ain't gonna get it. But at least it would explain that ridiculous hair you have. Is it on steroids or something?! So huge! It's terrible."

"Chiyo!" Sasori grimaced, stepping in front of Deidara. Fuck, she never could stay in her own life. She had to go ruining everything with her big mouth and stupid assumptions. "Cool down. Leave him alone."

Grudgingly, she quieted down. "Fine. I just wish you'd tell me why you left."

He swallowed again. He didn't want to talk about why he left, because she should have realized by then it was because of how hellish life so close to all of the old memories had been. Oh, and it certainly didn't help that that woman couldn't deal with being a normal mild and cookies grandma. No, she had to be an obsessive control freak who refused to sit still, damn it. "Deidara used to be in art school too. He's not useless."

"Hang on, what do you mean by 'used to'?"

"Ah. I kind of got expelled, un. Just a little…"

"WHAT?!"

_Aw, fuck. Here she goes._

"Sasori!" She rounded on him, steaming. "Why can't you settle for Sakura?! She's a nice girl! Smart, pretty, becoming a _doctor. _I thought you were going to choose someone with a _plan _for their life, not a no-good drop out hippie! And especially not a hippie who doesn't even wear colour, for god's sake. What are you _doing, _Sasori? Sakura would make so much more sense!"

"Aside from the fact that _she's a girl, _Chiyo, she hates me. Her favourite summer activity was throwing rocks at my head." Now he was on edge. Whenever Chiyo showed up, she made his stomach turn to knots and his head pound. "Honestly, stop it. You don't know Dei. Give him a fucking chance."

Chiyo opened her mouth again, but her eyes gave her away and she knew it. Grumbling, she muttered, "It's only because I care about you. It's my place to take care of you because I'm all you have left, Sasori."

"Maybe you care a little too much, un." Deidara mentioned suddenly, grabbing the redhead's hand. "Because I care about him too. And even me, who hasn't known him more than six months, can tell you make him uncomfortable, Chiyo-san."

_Right on target, Dei-chan. Damn, you're good. _"Look, I don't want to argue with you. I can't stand this, okay?" And with that, he rushed from the store, pulling along Deidara in tow without thinking.

Not to mention accidentally (but successfully, woo-hoo!) shoplifting two bars of Hershey chocolate in the process.

Oops?

--

"Wow, that was…rough." The blonde exhaled, blowing his yellow fringe out of his face. "That's your grandma, Danna?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Not to be rude, but. Um." He shivered. "Is that normal for her, or has she gone totally senile, un? She's more than rough, she's utterly brutal!"

"Imagine growing up in it." A chuckle filled with sarcastic malice spat out of his throat, and he looked up at the stars. They'd gone to the park, a nice neutral spot. He ran his fingers down the chains of the swing he sat on, feeling the bumps as each link joined the next. Jesus, all he ever felt in his life were the bumps, he couldn't' help but think. All he had to look forward to was the next cup of coffee he was going to have and the few sweet moments with Deidara on the way.

_Really though…I can't see how to complain about those two things. I love those…it is not because of those things that I always have a sore throat from screaming._

"You look tired, un."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. Should we get you back home, un? Are you tired…?"

"No." He yawned.

"Just in case, un?"

"Okay…"

"I'll walk with you. So you don't get mugged or something awful like that…"

"Okay."

"Okay, un."

--

When they swung open his door and found the exact same soul-sucking black hole as when he'd left, Sasori's heart sand back down again. The only homey aspect of the place was the Nightmare Before Christmas snow globe, and that was all. Period.

It was the most depressing four walls and a roof anybody could have the misfortune of walking into, because it sure as hell wasn't the same thing as 'coming home to'. At all.

"Well," Deidara said awkwardly, sensing Sasori's disappointment to be back. "I guess…good night?"

"…Good night…"

"Good night, un…" He started to turn around and made it halfway out the door before he was stopped by Sasori's wobbly voice.

"Dei-chan?" The puppet maker called out hopefully.

"Danna, un?" He returned, pausing in the middle of the doorframe and looking back at him, standing in the dark.

"Can you stay tonight?"

"Un?"

"Please don't leave me alone in this place, Dei. So…can you stay? Will you stay?"

He heard the door click shut, but warm breath on his neck answered him. "Yes, un. Forever if you'd want me to."

"Good." Sasori snatched him up in a quick series of kisses. "Because I need you."

"You can have me, un."

That particular night in his lonely apartment wasn't nearly so lonely. Or quiet. Or still.

But most of all, it wasn't so cold.


	14. We Are Feathers

**A/N: **Dude, I like this chapter. :D It has Cute Deidara in it…and and! Entirely unrelated to fic-ness, I got an epic Christmas ornament. XD Well, actually it's _sort of _related to this particular fic, because it's a Starbucks cup. :3 It's amazing. I'm in love. I'm going to marry it.

Augh, I'm going to marry a Christmas ornament? X3 Meep, okay… I think that certifies me as an option to go to a mental asylum. Maybe. (PLEASE SEND ME TO ARKHAM. XD Or Shinyview… Random Batman and/or Umbrella Academy references FTW~~~)

I own an epic Starbucks ornament, but not Naruto. :D

Enjoy and thank you for reading! (And happy various winter holidays. Yayeeee.)

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

Chapter Fourteen

Sasori woke up when he felt the warm, wonderful body next to him stretch and roll off. "Dei…? Where are you going…?" He murmured, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

His partner winced, realizing he'd been caught. "Oh, sorry, un. I was trying not to wake you up… You look so peaceful when you're asleep, un. Did you know that?"

"Peaceful…? Me…?"

Deidara smiled, putting on yesterday's clothes. "Yeah. Believe it or not, un. Anyway, I was going to come back with coffee to surprise you, but I guess I can't really surprise you anymore. Rawr, you ruined it, un!" He playfully stuck out his tongue before checking his reflection once in the mirror Sasori kept beside the bed. "Oh, damn. I have sex hair, un!"

"Ha. I wonder why…" Sasori chuckled, searching through the blankets to find the sculptor's hair tie. "Ah, here it is. Here, this might help." He held it out, and Deidara gratefully took it with a laugh.

"I'll be right back, 'kay? With some pastries too, un!"

"'Kay." The redhead nodded, happily watching his lover leave before sinking back into the pillows with a fulfilled sigh.

He was _happy. _

He'd woken up _happy._

He could not remember a single time in his life when he was honestly happy to see that there was a brand new day to face. That sort of joy just didn't happen. It was always fear in the morning, fear of another thing going miserably, certainly wrong.

But he wasn't afraid today.

Fancy that shit. Wow.

_I'm happy. I'm happy. I'm happy. Holy shit, I don't even know what to do with all of this happiness…! This is amazing, this is amazing…! It's like…like I could do cartwheels all over the place. Me, cartwheels! And I probably would, too, if I could even do a somersault. But that's beside the point. The point is…I'm happy._

He was.

Previous to that morning, the longest that one smile had graced his lips was only for about twenty seconds. This smile, though, he kept smiling from when Deidara said he looked peaceful to when he'd shrugged on a shirt.

Happy and _smiling. _Had he undergone a brain transplant or something while he'd been asleep? No, he was genuinely glad to be alive. That was something he never, ever thought he could be. Puppets weren't meant to be glad to be alive, because they weren't alive. They just pretended to be while somebody else animated them.

Sasori was finally not feeling like he was one of his hollow puppets, too.

"I'm alive," He thought aloud, laughing as he said it. "I'm alive. I can actually feel my heart, and it's beating." He tugged on the rest of his clothes and repeated, "I'm alive!" Because he could hardly believe it. Ah, he felt silly talking to himself like this, but it was simply too _amazing_ that he couldn't help himself. "I'm alive and my heart – _mine _– is beating!"

"Um…okay, un. If you say so?"

"Ah!" Sasori blushed, jumping in surprise. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry, you scared me is all."

Deidara put on a pouty face. "What do you mean, 'just you'? " He whined playfully. A cup holder was balanced on one arm, and a bag of doughnuts was clutched in his hand. "I thought I was special, un!"

"Of course you are." The redhead crooned, walking over to rescue their coffee before it got dropped by accident. "You're Dei-chan. What else do you expect?"

Smirking, he poked fun at his boyfriend. "Hm. What else do I expect, un…? Well! For starters, I definitely expect a thank you kiss, un. After all, I did bring breakfast. I think I deserve one, un."

"And did you think I wasn't going to give you one?" Sasori chirped, pecking his lips sweetly before gulping down a mouthful of fresh coffee. "Stupid brat."

"Stupid Danna!" The blonde retorted, "But really, un. Don't drink that so fast, you'll burn yourself."

Deidara's adorable concern made him melt into a grin. Lately he couldn't help himself; he'd been starting to smile a lot more. Hell, his face even started to hurt sometimes because the muscles weren't used to smiling anymore. "God damn it, you are so despicably _cute! _Why are you so despicably cute?" Laughing, he swept a pillow off the bed and tossed it at Deidara, who caught it easily. A competitive spark rose in one blue eye.

"Aha, so you're going to play that way, Danna?" He crooned, taking aim to fire the pillow right back. "I warn you, this isn't my first pillow fight, un!"

He couldn't help but nervously take it to mean he wasn't the only boyfriend he'd had a pillow fight with. The pillow hit him in the face, a few stray feathers floating out, since he was too stunned to block it. "But..but…who was it with…?" He asked, automatically turning to internal never-going-to-be-good-enough-for-him mode.

"Ha! Are you _jealous, _un?!"

"Well…maybe? A little? Because you're _my _stupid brat. Exclusively mine."

He shook his head, the fluffy blonde ponytail bobbing. "Don't worry, un. It's my cousin, that's all. We used to have, like…tournaments. Ha, it could get pretty crazy. She's awesome, really."

"Oh. Okay." Relief. Talk about relief. Sasori hated having to try to out do ex's, because he always over thought everything and made a fool of himself. "So, are you close? You never mentioned your cousin to me before. Can I meet her ever?"

Deidara looked up, a sad half smile on his face. "Yeah, un. We were close. But I haven't seen her in ages. Her family won't let her see me since the word got out to them that I'm gay, un…"

Sasori blinked, dropping the pillow. Was that part of the reason he'd gotten so vicious at the mall before? Like he had something huge to prove and he was desperate to do so? Even with his usually harmless personality? "Shit. I…I didn't know that, Dei… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you."

"No, it's okay. I've gotten over it for the most part now, un. Well. Maybe not the most part, but..eh, kind of gotten used to it. A little, un. I'm trying to. So don't be sorry, Danna. Mmkay, un?"

"Okay."

"I want you to know everything about me, un. Oh, so can I ask you something?" Reaching for the bag of doughnuts, he dug one out and offered the bag to Sasori.

"Sure, I guess so." He shrugged and took the doughnuts. Taking out a round glazed one, he took a small bite and watched intently.

Deidara bit into his treat, fluffy white cream spurting out onto his nose. Gah, so damn adorable! "Uwah, these are so good," he groaned blissfully before continuing. "But anyway, can I ask why you were so excited about your heart beating or something when I came in, un?"

"Ahhh, right. You heard that? Damn. That's embarrassing. That was just—that was just… How do I put it? Hm. Okay, look." Sasori sighed. "I'm a manic depressive bipolar freak. I am not used to feeling so…_floaty. _Like a feather or something. Damn it, that sounds so corny, but I don't care."

He smiled through a second bite of doughnut, oblivious to the huge glop of cream perched so temptingly at the tip of his nose. "Corny is good, un."

"Dei, wait." Sasori drew in a dreary breath. "While I'm mentioning it, I want to say one more time that I'm not good for you. Are you sure you understand that? Because I am so tired of hurting people, and you're absolutely the last person I want to hurt right now, and—"

"I've got it, un! Alright? You don't have to keep saying it over and over…" He sighed, putting a finger to his lips to shush him. "I already know, un! But you make _me _happy too. Did you forget that part?"

No, he hadn't really forgotten. He was just finding a reason, any reason, to worry about something. When he wasn't worrying, he didn't know what to do with himself.

Correction: He didn't know what to do with himself when he wasn't worrying e_xcept _for in that moment. Deidara had drawn himself in close to prove how much he didn't care about Sasori's 'infectious' depression, and Sasori couldn't stand not taking care of that seductive blob of doughnut filling any fucking longer.

He dove in at the chance, licking it up and swiftly moving down to his little brat's lips to muffle his chirp of surprise. Their tongues gratefully found each other, mingling tenderly. Deidara tasted of coffee and doughnuts, and Sasori loved every second of being with him. You could name any one of his previous boyfriends, and none of them had he ever kissed with so much care. None of them had ever lasted much more than a month, either.

Then again, none of them had been Deidara, so obviously they wouldn't have been so magical.

Sasori leaned against him, pushing him up to the wall. He barely noticed his door clicking open again and the old woman who came cautiously in, calling for him. "Sasori? Sasori, are you here? The door was unlocked… I wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday—AH! YOU'RE WITH _HIM _AGAIN?"

Her yell made them rip apart, each moving to a different end of the bed and quickly trying to smooth their ruffled clothes. "Chiyo!" The puppet maker sputtered, narrowing his eyes. "What the hell? "

--

**A/N: **Chiyo, Chiyo, Chiyo… Is it bad that I like her? XD I think she's cute, the senile old woman…


	15. Hearts Kept Together By BandAids

**A/N: **Okay, I'm going to come right out and say it. This one has got to be my favourite chapter. :3 And I'm not sure why. But I'm proud of it for some reason. XD So seriously, I really hope it was worth the month of waiting~ -shotshotshotSHOT- AUGH THAT'S PAINFUL QUIT IT -shotshot- But you know, Lazzy is a masochist like you wouldn't believe, so she doesn't mind… X3 I deserve it anyway. –sweatdrop-

On with the story!

-I am a disclaimer. Shake well before eating and enjoy.-

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

~Fifteen~

"The door was unlocked, I said." Chiyo huffed indignantly, glaring at Deidara. "Did that slacker of yours _spend the night?"_

"Yes, and there's nothing you can do about it, so leave, Chiyo! Get the hell out…!" Sasori regretted the words the moment he said them, but he couldn't help himself.

He was sick of the world constantly forbidding him to be happy. He was so _sad _when he wasn't happy… And he'd been happy. He'd been so happy he was on the verge of _happy tears._

Until she came.

Ruining it again.

And whether she had good intentions or not, he couldn't take it any more. He had been fraying around the edges for years, and now he was finally starting to unravel faster and faster. For some reason Chiyo didn't notice all of the strings hanging limply off of him from it, and she kept pulling.

He pulled right back, though, and technically that made both of them at fault for it.

Stymied, she blinked with suddenly blank eyes. "Do you…do you mean that, Sasori…?"

"Go away…" His tone was tired, and void of much emotion. Deidara watched uncertainly, trying his best to read what Sasori was thinking.

"You want me to go away…"

"Yes."

"You want me to go away…" Her hands were starting to quiver and shake, and Deidara saw that. Sasori was too blind to. He kept hammering out angry words.

"Yes, damn it! Go the fuck away!"

And so, miserably, submissively, the old woman gathered up what little was left of her pride and shuffled out of the apartment, which left all of them feeling even worse than they had when it started to come down on them.

Sasori clenched his fist, trying not to strangle himself in frustration, and slammed shut the door after them. "Stupid bitch, stupid woman…!"

Somewhat timidly, Deidara took the fist into his own hand. Tenderly rubbing his fingers over Sasori's to get them to relax, he whispered, "Danna, maybe it's not exactly the best time to ask, but why do you hate her so much, un?"

Letting himself be soothed by the blonde's expert touch, he sighed. "Does it seem like I hate her? Because I don't know _why _I can't ever get along with her anymore. You know?"

Deidara bit his lip. "I don't, Danna… But can you tell me, un?"

"It's complicated."

"Did you ever get along?"

"Once upon a time, I guess… She taught me about puppets. Have I told you that?"

"No, un."

"Well…" He started, sitting down with the sculptor on the bed again. Funny how he never minded Deidara-therapy sessions. If they had met earlier, he wondered, how different would he have turned out? Less of a ball of nerves and cynical edge? "It was when my parents had just died and I'd gone to live with her. I learned early to pretend that I was okay, but she might have seen through it some before I perfected the art, because she showed me the puppets trying to get me interested in _something_ again. We shared them for a little while, but then we started fighting…and never really stopped."

He wanted t o be on Sasori's side expressly, but Deidara couldn't help himself. "She noticed though, un. I don't think she stopped noticing…"

"And your point being? She suffocated me. I know I told you that before."

"I know, un…but… You are kind of hard to understand, Danna." He cringed, not wanting to make him any more on edge. "Seems to me like you wore on her nearly as much as she did on you, un. Um, if you don't mind me saying that…?"

Sasori watched his friend seem to brace himself like he was afraid he was going to get hit or something. _Jesus…am I really that bad? _Heaving out a giant sight from his core, the redhead let go of Deidara's hand and flopped onto his back. "Shit." He said plainly, tired of always dancing around his problems. "Shit."

"…Un?"

God damn it all. All of it. Because yes, he had known all along that he was hurting Chiyo at the same time. He'd made a _point _to do that, every day he been living with her. He wanted every bloody worthless person to suffer right along with him. Oh, and he'd done quite a nice job at it too.

But maybe it was time to wake up and smell the coffee. _Very funny, Sasori… You're such a fucking comedian. No, I'm just such a fucking miserable idiot and it's my own damn fault._

He wanted to make the perpetual, _eternal _agony go away.

_You want to? You really want to? Well, I've got news for you: You're not going to unless you can start by fixing things with her first._

So. He took a look at his life. If there was ever a time when he wanted to try to salvage it, it was then.

Finally he had a boy who he could stand. Once he never would have thought could match with him, but he did. Not to mention that boy was a barista…coffee perks made him all that much better.

His studies at art school were almost complete. Graduation was in two weeks.

He had remembered how to lift up the corners of his mouth in a smile. _God, I can't get over that…_

Yes.

Akasuna no Sasori wanted to quit being so frozen at fifteen and full of so much angst he couldn't take it anymore.

He knew what he wanted, and that was definitely a huge thing.

But see, actually initiating it scared him stock still.

"…Dei?"

"Mhm?"

"Do you…do you think you could talk to Chiyo for me?"

"What?!" He sputtered, jumping when he heard. "You want _me_ to go talk to her, un?! The woman hates me! Did-did you totally miss her glaring laser eye beams at me, un?! She wants to vaporize me, Danna! Like a science fiction movie…! And…"

Sasori smirked. "You're afraid of an old lady? Really now…"

Deidara blushed, embarrassed. "Well…with good reason, un. Old ladies can be very scary. Especially if they have a shopping cart with them. They might run you over or something. Right…?"

"Chiyo doesn't generally run people over with shopping carts, Dei-chan." He said assuringly, omitting the time that she _had _chased a little kid who'd been annoying her around the supermarket. Ah, that had been an interesting grocery trip. (That had been right around the time she decided to start going shopping at night. Less people to piss her off that way.)

Still unsure, he muttered, "Okay…if I have to…but seriously, why me, un?"

"Because you're epic like that."

"Huh?"

"Because you are way better at seducing people than I am, damn it. So go!"

"You want me to SEDUCE HER?!"

The horror on the blonde's face was too much. Sasori laughed, "God, no! I mean, make her like you. Make her…make her smile. Because you're good at that…trust me."

"I am?"

"Yes."

"All right, un…"

And Sasori scribbled down the address to Chiyo's house, shoved it into Deidara's pocket, and equipped him with the candy they'd accidentally stolen. (Accidentally! No, really…!) Before he left though, the puppet maker mentioned, "Deidara, sorry… I'm a really horrible person. I'm taking advantage of you… You shouldn't put up with me like this."

He smiled wearily. "I don't...mind that much, un. This is part of getting to know each other, un. And deciding that we don't care about the shortcomings we have or whatever. 'Cause personally, I'm way more focused on why I think I love you. So I'm going to do this for you. Because I do, un. Think I love you."

Sasori didn't know quite what to say back to that.

"There's only one thing I won't do, Danna." Deidara smiled a bit before he left. "And that's tell her you're sorry, un. But I think you knew that…"

He smiled too, sort of sadly. "Yeah. I know."

_Dei-chan, thank you._

--

When he found Chiyo's house at last after getting sufficiently lost twice, Deidara was quivering as he raised an arm to ring the doorbell. He really needed to stop putting himself in such dangerous situations. Senile old ladies were even more life threatening than fireworks and bombs. _God, I must have a huge-ass death wish, _he thought miserably, pushing down on the doorbell.

It burst open, Sasori's grandmother panting hopefully and with wide eyes, like she'd been sitting all day praying for somebody to come. But, when she saw who it was, her eyes sank back to normal, tired slits and her shoulders slumped. "Oh. It's only _you. _I…thought you were…somebody else."

Well, so good so far. She hadn't shot him on the spot. That was a good sign, wasn't it…? Swallowing, he asked, "Who-who did you think I was, un?"

After a moment's worth of deliberation, she muttered, "Maybe…I might have thought you were Sasori. Maybe…I might have _hoped _you were Sasori. But in any case, you're not!" She glared, shaking the disappointment from her voice. "What do you want?"

Deidara flinched. "Peace, un?"

"Peace? What for?! I don't like you!"

He risked sounding like an idiot and whimpered, "Because I have an irrational fear of scary old people as it is, un! And not to be rude or anything, but you seriously are the embodiment of scary! And…and…and well, Danna sort of told me to, too…

Frankly, she was stunned. "Oh…oh my dear lord, you're actually serious, aren't you?"

"Um…yes, actually."

"But Sasori sent you? _My _Sasori?"

He nodded. "Technically he also told me to seduce you, but I'm deciding not to do that because that is way out of my comfort zone, un."

And despite her allegedly not liking him one bit, Chiyo burst into uproarious laughter, and grinned at him. "Look here, Slacker! I think you're a terrible idea for him, but I'm…I'm going to let you plead your case. Give me one reason why I shouldn't call the police on you for harassment…!" She tried to sound intimidating, but she was still choking on stray giggle fits.

"Because I also brought chocolate, un?"

This earned him a ticket straight into her house.

_Old people seem to have a very strange thought process…_

_--_

Chiyo sat him down at her kitchen table and munched thoughtfully on her chocolate bar, talking to him and learning about who he really was inside. She was beginning to see something in Mr. Slacker that she couldn't help but like. Yes, he seemed like a total failure at anything useful in life, but he also seemed very genuine. Quirky. And obviously loyal.

That morning she'd actually gone to her grandson's apartment to tell him she was wrong. Wrong at least about butting into his love life. He _was _an adult now. He'd been one for a while. Longer than most people his age. Having his parents die so young made him grow up incredibly fast…

But then, when she saw Deidara there when she came, she couldn't help herself but to get angry again. She'd gotten selfish and she wanted to keep Sasori as hers, as a little boy.

She was sad to let him go. He was all she had, too. Because don't forget, she'd lost people she loved when his parents died, too. So, she sheltered him to the breaking point, because she was petrified of losing another dear thing to her.

In all of that, it made Deidara look like too much of a threat at first glance.

Second glace made him look entirely different now.

And she liked him. And she _told _him so.

Oh, surely a sign of the apocalypse. Save us all.

--

Sasori was holed up in his living room, stuffing himself with ice cream (adorned with rainbow sprinkles, of course) and watching soap operas again. Usually that sort of helped him feel better, but this time he was too worried about what might be going on with his grandma and his boyfriend.

What if she was chasing him around her house, waving a fly swatter at his head hysterically?

What if it was a fire place poker instead of a fly swatter?

Or, god forbid, a motherfucking butcher knife?

Fuck, what if she tried to castrate him?!

Oh, Jesus Christ. Worse yet: what if Deidara _had _gone out and seduced her?!

BAD IMAGES.

BAD, BAD, BAD IMAGES.

Perish the thought.

PLEASE perish the thought…

His cell phone ringing definitely helped him feel a little bit less traumatized. Pouncing on it, he flipped it open roughly and screeched, "Hello?!"

"Ouch, Danna! Geez, you don't need to yell, un."

"Dei! Are you alive? Are you fully clothed…?!"

The blonde snorted. "What the fuck? Why are you asking _that?! _And here I was thinking that you'd be more interested in how Chiyo reacted, un..."

Relieved, he sighed. "Ummm…no reason, forget I even said that. So does she…still hate you?"

He grinned. "Saso-honey, I am happy to announce that she does not!"

"Really…?!" Wow, now that was unexpected.

"Mhm." He said cheerily, still grinning.

Sasori laughed, "Ah, I have no idea how you did that, but get your ass back here. Suddenly I have this very strong urge to kiss you…"

"Way ahead of you, un."

"What?" That voice hadn't come from the cell phone. He looked up in confusion and discovered Deidara standing in the doorway already smirking as he closed his cell.

"Hi Danna. You know, you really should start locking this if you don't want random people coming in without knocking first…"

Smile. "Ha. Well, if those random people are all as sexy as you, then I don't think I'd mind…"

"Is that so, un?"

"It is so, as a matter of fact."

And after that they made good use of Sasori's bed again. Go figure. But much more importantly, they were finally to the point where they were ready to face the final painful tests that were coming at them.

Face it _together._

That is, if Sasori would finally get it through his head that maybe he was beginning to depend on Deidara a touch _too _much to be entirely fair… He was starting to get an inkling that Dei was getting tired of being the super hero, but how to fix that…?


	16. Just For the Broken Record

**A/N: **Before you start reading this chapter, I want to mention that I added a few things toward the very end of the last one, so please reread that one first. :3 Just so it makes more sense as far as really important emotions…which is basically the whole theme of this semi-filler chapter, so please go read the additions first. X3' -sweatdrop-

I wrote this really quickly and am not entirely happy with it, but I know it's been ages since the last update. XD Augh, I'm a bumbling scatter brained idiot, lawlz.

I do not own Naruto. Thank Jashin, because it's a total mess after all the Akatsuki got offed. -sad nod- I barely follow it anymore.

--

A Tall Cappuccino With A Dash of Yaoi

~Chapter Sixteen~

Sasori knew damn well Deidara was starting to behave abnormally, and he also knew damn well that he was starting to take advantage of his free spirited lover. Not on purpose of course, but subconsciously he'd begun depending on him to fix everything. At first, yes, Deidara had genuinely been glad to help out the best he could at anything, but since fixing the Chiyo fiasco, several more things had come up. When they should have fallen on Sasori's watch expressly, who did they magically end up to?

Deidara.

Poor damn Deidara who only wanted to keep Sasori out of depression. And _that, _he was thinking, was probably the job that was wearing on him the most.

Sasori was not a 'happy camper' all day in any sense of the stupid phrase. He rarely still could admit that he was _entirely _happy, even around Deidara, though he was most definitely happiest then.

Happier.

But to get that, he was using Deidara at the same time, and that, he knew, wouldn't keep him happy in the long run if he had to watch his rainbow become unhappy and droop down into a wilted, exhausted flower.

Oh, using him. It sounded more awful the more he said it in his mind…

And the last few days, Sasori had nervously been noticing that Deidara was a little less eager to come running to his every rescue.

In the past two weeks, Deidara had convinced Sasori's landlord not to evict his for _another _late rent, negotiated a truce with an irritable old man Sasori had accidentally dumped his coffee on, and helped him finish a rushed art project, among many other things.

The next week, Sasori was officially graduating art school, and he wanted to do it _clean._

Clean and free of guilt from all of his fumbles, free of guilt from making everyone around him miserable for his whole life, and most importantly free of guilt from treating Deidara like his maid.

_What took me so long to realize this? Am I that blind? If I really loved him, wouldn't I _never be _using him like I have been? Right? But…_

_But I do love him, god damn it. I do, and I'm letting him down without any cushions at all. And I…I really can't do that anymore._

That might well have been what scared him most, because he did love him. And loving someone meant _not _using them. It meant sometimes fixing your _own _mess instead of spreading it to them too, and not letting them fix it no matter how much they swore they didn't mind.

Because they did mind.

He did mind, but he was too fucking polite to say it.

So, Sasori would go ahead and say it _for _Deidara.

--

"Dei, can I talk to you?"

"Hm?" He glanced up, normally vibrant eyes lacking some of their bright shine. Seeing that almost made Sasori cringe. Had life with him really been wearing on him that much? "Am I allowed to say no, un?"

"You're always allowed to say no."

"What are you talking about?" The blonde raised an eyebrow tiredly and snuggled in close to the puppeteer, absorbing his warmth. "That sounds too serious to be good, un."

"Well…" Hesitating a little, he ran his finger down Deidara's thin wrist. "It is sort of serious, but I want it to turn out good. You know what I'm getting at…? Do you?"

Deidara chewed his lip, pretending like he wasn't hoping it to be what he was wanting it to be about. "Nope, un. I'm…not sure that I do…"

"Yes you do, damn it." He exhaled slowly, trying not to slam his head into the wall, shattering it to pieces to punish himself. "It's me. And it's my fucked up perception of seeing things how I want to see them, and refusing for a _long time _to believe that I…" He stopped, wishing he wasn't about to say what he was. Not to Deidara… "I have been using you this whole time, haven't I? Mentally using you… Always _conveniently _opening the door for you to make the bold rescue of my muddles…"

"I don't mind though!" It was almost mechanical, the way he said it quickly like a cover up, but his eyes betrayed him and looked suddenly afraid. Sitting up straight, he looked directly at him. "Danna, if it means I get to stay with someone as insightful and creative as you are, I _don't mind, _un…"

"I wish you wouldn't keep saying that…"

Swallowing hard, the fear was sharp. "Don't tell me you want to break up for my sake, Danna. Please, un. I'm telling the truth, I don't mind… I do what I can, if I can, un. Although eventually, yeah, I expect you to return those favours, but…"

He was putting it too lightly, and that wasn't sitting well with Sasori. "Tell me I'm a self centered asshole."

"Un?!"

"Say it, please…I'd feel so much better."

"No!" The pyromaniac refused, getting thoroughly distressed. "Danna, all you need is a little more help and you'll be—"

"No more helping me, Dei. It's my turn to help you."

He fell quiet and suddenly he didn't look so scared or so ragged. Perhaps he was too stubborn to admit that was what he wanted, what he had _needed, _to hear, but his face was giving him all away. "Me, huh…"

Now, to say the most selfless thing he could have thought of, that before he would have thought dirty and terrible, Sasori mentioned, "I want to learn about your art. More than the first time… I want to learn it, Dei. Because I know that would make you happy."

"Make me happy, un…"

"Wouldn't it?"

Deidara smiled warmly, already looking more free and rejuvenated, whether he'd admit it or not. "Hell yes it would, un."

Disaster Mending Passed On To Sasori Version One; check.

And for the first fucking time ever, he'd done it _himself._

--

"Danna, no! You're doing it all wrong, un!" An exasperated groan spat out of the barista's throat, slapping Sasori rudely in the artistic pride. Maybe he was trying too hard to get the bird sculpture right…there had to be _some _good reason why he was sorely lacking in the success department. "Look at it, it's all lumpy…! Ew, start over. Please, un. Yuck."

_Tell yourself you're just going to explode it anyway…tell yourself that, and maybe you'll quit being so desperate to make it perfect. _Some of his favourite things were made on a whim, just because he could and he wanted to. Those were the projects for him that _had _turned out near perfect, only because they hadn't needed to be. _He did say the real art is all in the explosion, didn't he? If you can get that right, it won't matter if your bird's head is all squashed…_

"Okay, there! That's good, un! Now quit touching it or you'll kill it again." He nodded in approval, snatching the clay falcon away. As an after thought he glanced back slyly and added, "But you know…you look very sexy when you're all flustered and having trouble concentrating. Sort of like a school boy, un. One who has forgotten to study for his math final…"

"Meh."

Since they had had that conversation, Sasori was certainly pleased to see that the air between them was more clean and breathable again, like it had been the night it the alley when they had first kissed. It was a matter of letting Deidara change him into someone strong, someone less afraid to give in once in a while to a few laughs or to a few tears where someone could _see_ them laughing or crying.

He would let Deidara see, to prove that he did have a conscience and that he did have a heart somewhere in his rough, cold outer skin. In there there was running blood and running _life. _But it had taken so long to thaw out with the seasons…

_I'm not eternal inside… I'm not, not really. Haven't you noticed that I'm not the same as before? How long has it been? Half a year? A little bit over that now. I don't know. But i'm _not _the same person as then, somehow._

He was thawed, and he was gathering up everything that he'd misplaced, and taking it all back, adding a few new things along the way.

Such as Dei-chan.

Tomorrow, he was graduating, and tomorrow he was really going to prove how much he had grown away from the dismal mindset of being a puppet himself.

--

**A/N: **Number Seventeen will be the finale. :3 I'm starting it right away, probably. Thank you for reading, my lovelies!


	17. To the Point of Laughing Out Loud

**A/N: **My lovelies, I bring you the final chapter of Cappuccino. :3 It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? XD All in all, I've liked this fic for the most part. Especially in the beginning when my muse was still fresh and curious for Naruto… Damn, that was like…last summer. That's a long time for one story. X3' But dude, all of you who have alerted, favourited, and of course reviewed—you guys are so incredibly awesome. I would give you all a chocolate covered coffee bean, but then I'd run out. XD' Thank you so much though. There would be no story if it weren't for you guys.

...You're absolutely awesome. 8D

I intend to start in on writing for the D. Gray-Man fandom, which is the best manga I have read, like, ever… X3 And it should be a lot of fun.

Until then, enjoy the last installment! -mwah-

By now, hopefully we've all realized that I _still _don't own Naruto and never will. XD

--

A Tall Cappuccino with a Dash of Yaoi

Chapter Seventeen

"Jesus, could that possibly have taken any longer…?" Sasori moaned in annoyance, graduation papers in one hand and Deidara in the other. "Four years seemed shorter than that ceremony!"

"Awh, come on." The blonde barista poked him in the stomach. "At least you stayed around to get to that ceremony, un."

"Mhm, but I also stayed around long enough to get loads of college debt, too."

"Oh, right. Kakuzu probably was sure to remind you of that, un!" Deidara chuckled, "Iguess that's one thing I got lucky about. Although I wouldn't really classify being expelled as incredibly lucky, un…"

"Perhaps not. I'm going to go with not, Dei-chan."

But he did know that he was incredibly lucky Deidara was so open and forgiving. He didn't understand how the hell that was even possible…but it seemed to be. By now, if Sasori were having an exquisite, lifelike dream, it probably would have turned into a nightmare quite some time ago.

No nightmare yet.

Several almost nightmares, but the point to the matter was that those hadn't _stayed._

Oh, fantastic.

And psychotic…

But it was really there.

Sasori could even touch it, and it didn't evaporate away. God, he wasn't used to that sort of miracle, but he knew that he would gladly _get _used to it without complaint.

_Damn…why do I feel so surprised about that?_

Answer: It was all so insane to think about only a few short months ago that there was no connection in his mind.

--

"Hey peeps, look who it is!" Konan chirped, flashing a peace sign and waving her other arm excitedly. "Go go gay machine…!"

"Go go gay machine with a shiny new diploma!" Deidara added on, shoving his boyfriend into the limelight, simply because he knew Sasori hated the limelight no matter how much he deserved to be in it. "See? See, un?"

"Ooh la la." The woman trilled, grinning at the blushing puppeteer. "Gay college _graduate. _Now ain't that sexy?"

"I said the same thing, un." He purred, obviously generating plans in his head to take Sasori out partying later. There was nothing like dancing somewhat naughtily under the sweaty lights at their favourite nightclub. Ah, and what was even better than the dancing was the shoving off the curious singles who came calling.

Sasori was taken and he was _his, _thank you very much. Not for sale, you horny lonely bastards…

Ha. Maybe he was a touch possessive…

Konan delivered them coffee without delay, and it was really, honestly peachy. Just to sit there staring at each other, making eyes and smirking childishly, not needing to say a single word to get their point across.

They were proud.

Proud of each other, for different reasons, but with the same intensity.

Yeah, intense was a good word to describe what they'd done and how they felt. And what they'd do in the future…because they were far from over, and far from at the peak. The pair was only just beginning now.

_Spare me the dramatics, _this _is what it's all about._

That attitude was what Sasori intended to wear like a fucking ring on his finger. Who needed a ring when you had a feeling? A feeling was stronger, and probably meant more, if only because you _couldn't _see it physically. You couldn't hide a feeling, but you could hide an object if you really wanted to.

And see, Sasori had no yearning to be hiding anything he believed about this strange boy he'd found one day, serving him a tasty cappuccino.

There was only one yearning he had, and that was to kiss him every damn second they were together. PDA? Who cared? Too bad.

Just before he was about to lean over and pounce on his delicious rainbow sprinkle, the door opened roughly, announcing the arrival of the least delicious, rancid person possible.

"Gee, lookie who's here…"

Sasori bristled, recognizing that biting voice. A voice that was slick with hate, a voice that _was _hate.

_"_The wittle faggie poos!"

The homophobic asshole and his posse from their unfortunate mishap at the mall... God, that day had almost sent them both over the edge of an emotional precipice.

Instinct, initially, said to sit still and pretend that he didn't know who they were or that they were even talking to him. He didn't move. _Freeze, just freeze. Maybe it will hurt less if you don't try to be the noble one…_

Konan noticed the tension suddenly flooding the air of the shop, and came over to investigate. "Is there, um, a problem here…?"

"Beat it, bitch." Said the leader coldly, eyes fixed on Sasori and Deidara. "This isn't your place. It's between these fags and me…"

"Excuse me, but could you not call them that?" She cringed, trying to stay calm. "They're my friends, and they're wonderful people, and I don't appreciate you—"

"Shut up, bitch!" He snapped, making her fall silent. "What _I _don't appreciate is them! That shit is sick. Call a health inspector, they're polluting this place. Kick 'em out, if you ask me, bitch…"

Deidara was trying his best not to repeat what had happened before. It pained Sasori to watch him try so hard not to strike out and hit that bastard. But violence certainly was only bound to end up with them bleeding in more places than they even knew they had. Plus, now there was Konan to worry about.

_What do I do?_

_I don't let Deidara save me._

That was what he was most concerned about. He swore not to let that happen anymore, at least not until he had done well to repay him. And before he could even start to formulate any rational plan in his head, Sasori's instinct changed. Swiftly and surely, he snatched Deidara and deliberately began to kiss him after retorting, "Well, nobody ever did ask you, did they?"

Their opposer's face dropped into a disgusted snarl, and he seemed paralyzed as he watched them kiss right in front of him. "What the fuck is this?!" He sputtered, glancing helplessly at Konan. "You let them do this?!"

Too shocked herself at Sasori's sudden bravery, she didn't answer.

At first, Deidara was startled and unsure, but he trusted Sasori and returned the kiss. Hell, if they were going to die, why not enjoy the last few moments alive together?

Yet, they didn't die.

After a brief, sickened handful of seconds, the thug put up his hands in defeat and shook his head, appalled. "Fuck it! I ain't watchin' this. I'm out of here, man…!"

And to all of their incredible surprise, he _was_ out of there.

Breathless and grateful, the two separated and blinked. Deidara murmured, "Danna, un. Can we please never piss him off again?"

Still confused where he'd gotten that random, wonderful spurt of courage from, Sasori stated simply, firmly, "I don't care anymore what anyone thinks. It doesn't matter, because I'm sick of pretending like I'm alright with people saying what we're doing is wrong. That it's wrong for us to be ourselves. For me to love you more than anybody…because when I think about that, all I can think of is how _right _it is."

He blushed. "Oh. Wow, un…"

"Hm?"

"That's just so _heroic, _un…!"

Smile. Real, full smile. "No, not heroic, Dei-chan. Only _true."_

_--_

Darling, have you ever considered…? What flavor of coffee would you want to be on the lips of the last person you ever kissed? Hazelnut? Toffee? Mocha? Or a complete surprise…?

In the last moments, would you want the pair of eyes you saw sparkling back in your direction to be the colour of the rainbow, dear…?

Do you know…?

Have you ever considered; darling, what would happen if all the lights went out? Who would you want to be there with you at the end of the world? When you were too scared to move around, running your hands around the walls trying to find a switch to turn them back on? Who would you want to tell you that it was alright, because they were scared too?

Have you ever considered?

--

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